Guatemala is a country that stirs something deep —layered, luminous, and never quite what it first appears. Our Guatemala travel experiences span three visits, in 2007, 2024, and 2025 and each visit reveals a country that continues to inspire return travel. From smoking volcanoes to still lakes, sacred highland towns to colonial cities alive with memory, Guatemala invites return. The Maya presence is everywhere: in language, in the woven symbols of village textiles, in the syncretic altars of Catholic churches. Yet this is no museum culture, it is living, proud, and evolving. For me, the connection runs even deeper: my grandfather lived and died here, and our family story is partly woven into Guatemala’s turbulent twentieth century. Against a backdrop of resilience, from civil war to quiet survival, this country continues to challenge, surprise, and stay with you.
Antigua: Where Colonial Ruins Endure and the Maya Soul Persists
From Guatemala City, like most international visitors, we made our way to Antigua, one of Central America’s most beautiful colonial cities. Nestled in the shadow of three towering volcanoes – Volcán de Agua, Volcán de Acatenango, and the ever-active Volcán de Fuego – Antigua is a former capital of Spanish Guatemala. Founded in 1543, Antigua was once the seat of the colonial government until it was abandoned in 1773 after a devastating earthquake. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrated for its stunning colonial architecture, vibrant arts scene, and surrounding natural beauty.
After the earthquakes, Antigua entered a kind of suspended animation:
- Residents were ordered to relocate. Some obeyed, but many stayed behind or returned.
- Reconstruction was limited and inconsistent, partly due to seismic risk, partly because official resources were focused on the new capital.
- Churches and monastic complexes were never fully restored. Some were salvaged for materials, others left as evocative ruins.
What you see today is partly the result of deliberate conservation of ruin:
- Many of the collapsed convents and churches are protected monuments, preserved in their ruined state rather than rebuilt.
- The sense of romantic decay is now part of Antigua’s identity, often drawing visitors more than full restoration might.
- La Merced is one of the few major churches that was fully rebuilt, hence its unusually good condition.
Even some buildings around the Plaza Mayor still show signs of disrepair or partial collapse, a legacy of centuries of abandonment, property disputes, and inconsistent funding.
Arco de Santa Catalina; Volcan Fuego; Volcán Agua; Street Scene to Arco de Santa Catalina; Hotel Convento Santa Catalina, La Merced, Antigua
We stayed at Hotel Convento Santa Catalina, housed in a former convent directly under the city’s most famous landmark, the Arco de Santa Catalina. The Santa Catalina Arch is a symbol of Antigua, originally constructed to allow nuns to cross between convent buildings without entering the streets. From the hotel’s charming courtyard, we enjoyed quiet moments gazing up at this centuries-old structure framed by the lush greenery and colonial buildings of Antigua. Today, it’s one of the most photographed features of the city, especially at sunset when the view of Volcán de Agua through its span is framed in golden light.
Life in Antigua still orbits around the Plaza Mayor. Retired Americans, many of whom in the past were part of church led volunteer groups sip coffee beneath shady trees. While Maya women in traditional dress sell handicrafts or carry baskets of fruit on their heads. The square is a living crossroads of culture, past and present overlapping in the conversations, colours, and commerce that fill the space.
On our return in 2025, we were greeted by Aracely Hernández, a Maya vendor we had first met in 2024. She now works longer hours to fund her daughter’s studies but recognised us instantly when we showed her a photo from our earlier trip. It was a simple exchange, but a moving one, reminding us of how memory persists in small, human connections.
Antigua’s religious architecture is rich, layered, and often interrupted. The Catedral de San José, fronting the Plaza Mayor, is only partly rebuilt. Originally constructed in 1541, it has endured multiple earthquakes, and what remains today is a combination of grand surviving façades, cavernous chapels, and open-sky courtyards filled with fallen stone. The majestic façade and remaining side chapels showcase fine examples of Baroque architecture, while inside, the quiet, cavernous spaces left by fallen roofs offer a unique atmosphere for reflection.
A short walk away, Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande stands as one of Antigua’s most evocative sites. Partially restored, only one of its two bell towers was rebuilt, it is best known as the resting place of Santo Hermano Pedro, Guatemala’s first saint. His tomb lies within a modest side chapel, and a small museum nearby tells the story of his charitable works with the sick and poor.
Another highlight is Iglesia de la Merced, with its exuberant yellow and white baroque exterior and swirling stucco detail. The church houses a revered image of Our Lady of Mercy, framed by intricately carved woodwork. On feast days, it becomes a centre of processions and floral offerings — faith performed in full colour.
Top Row Catedral de San José; Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande; Nellie in Artisan Market; La Merced, Antigua
Antigua is also a hub of Maya artisan culture, especially textiles. The artesanal market near the bus station brims with colour — fabrics from dozens of villages, each bearing distinct geometric patterns and symbolic motifs. The fine craftsmanship of the San Antonio Aguas Calientes weavers, who produce intricate backstrap-loom textiles, was a standout. Among the stalls, in our 2025 visit, we met Nellie, who oversees a collective stall on behalf of 25 families from her home village. Her name immediately stood out — my grandmother, Helen, who once lived in Guatemala, was also known as Nellie. That link, however small, deepened the moment.
Nellie explained how the cooperative works: prices are agreed collectively, and profits are shared among the participating families. The stall was beautifully curated, stacked with embroidered blouses, intricate shawls, and finely woven table runners. A quiet but confident act of self-determination through shared commerce.
In between exploring churches and markets, we enjoyed meals at local restaurants such as Casa Escobar and next door Madre Tierra both of which served us some of the finest steaks, and Antigua Brewing Company, where we sipped craft beers while listening to live music, particularly British rock music with some additional Latin American tweaks. Also, next door to the Arch is a bar called Macondo that also has live music, this time more Colombian / Latin American genres. Of course, the local Guatemalans find it difficult to resist fried chicken at the many Pollo Campero restaurants.
Climbing up to the Cerro de la Cruz offered panoramic views of the city’s terracotta rooftops and surrounding volcanoes — a reminder of the forces that shaped this place and the fragility of what survives. Antigua is one of the few places in the Americas where ruin is conserved rather than erased, and that decision — conscious, curated, and unhurried — continues to shape its poetic atmosphere today. It’s a city of quiet decay and resilience.
Festival de la Luz, Asturias and Marquez
In July 2025, our visit coincided with Antigua’s Festival de la Luz (18–19 July) — a dazzling nighttime celebration of magical realism, blending light installations, projections, across the city’s colonial façades, including the Arch. While Gabriel García Márquez is familiar ground, explored elsewhere on this blog, the festival also paid tribute to Guatemala’s own Nobel laureate, Miguel Ángel Asturias. Little known outside the Spanish-speaking world, Asturias combined Maya myth, politics, and poetic surrealism in novels such as El Señor Presidente and Men of Maize. Here in Antigua, his words flickered across the stone walls in incandescent script, mingling fiction, memory, and dream, a fitting tribute in a city where time already feels suspended.
In July 2025, the city was illuminated by a Festival de la Luz honouring the legacy of magical realism, especially that of Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemala’s Nobel Laureate. The sound and light show projected vivid imagery onto church facades: maize fields, spirit animals, a sailing princess, and a revolutionary fist, a fitting tribute to Asturias’ myth-laced, politically charged prose. While I’ve explored García Márquez extensively elsewhere on this blog, this celebration prompted me to reflect more deeply on Asturias, an earlier pioneer of the genre who wove Indigenous cosmology, poetic imagination, and political critique into a singular body of work.
Local Markets Antigua including Aracely Hernández in 2024 and 2025
“Business is Business”
In conversations with Maya vendors, whether on the square or in the market, one phrase came up again and again: “business is business.” It’s a stock expression, said with a half-smile, and always followed by a careful negotiation. Behind it lies something deeper: pride in craft, experience in trade, and a quiet confidence in value. Deals here are rarely rushed, and while bargaining is expected, respect is mutual.
Antigua lingers. Not just for its facades or its framing of volcanoes, but for the way it holds time differently — suspended, stratified, sometimes cracked open to the sky. Walk its streets and you feel the ghost of an empire, the persistence of Maya life, and the gentle hum of contemporary reinvention. Memory clings to walls and names: Aracely, Nellie, Macondo. Its churches are not just monuments, but metaphors — half-standing, half-forgotten, wholly evocative. In Antigua, ruin is not decay but dialogue, and beauty is inseparable from fracture. That’s what makes it one of Latin America’s great colonial cities — not preservation alone, but resonance.
Lake Attlán
Lake Atitlán: Where Volcanoes Meet Tranquil Waters
Next, we travelled to Panajachel, a lakeside town on the edge of Lake Atitlán, often hailed as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. The lake sits in a massive caldera formed by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago and is surrounded by three towering volcanoes – San Pedro, Tolimán, and Atitlán. These dramatic peaks rise above the lake’s calm waters, creating a picture-perfect landscape that feels almost otherworldly. In Panajachel in 2024 we stayed at the Hotel San Buenaventura de Atitlán, a small friendly hotel, with grounds stretching down to the lake shore. In 2025 we opted for the more central Sociatel Atitlan, a well-equipped hotel, complete with pool and an active travel agency to arrange the many trips and shuttles across the region.
Panajachel is a busy tourist town that services the broader Lake Atitlan area, with many hotels, restaurants and travel agencies. The main high street is lined with many artisanal market stalls too. A highlight from our 2025 visit was eating at one of the roadside barbeque vendors, along with a largely Guatemalan customer base.
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
On both visits to Panajachel we joined full-day boat tours across the lake to visit several of the surrounding indigenous towns. Most tours will visit both Santiago Atitlán and San Juan la Laguna but may visit different other villages. In 2024 we visited San Antonio de Palopó whereas in 2025 we visited San Pedro la Laguna.
San Antonio de Palopó has particularly stunning views of the volcanoes across the lake, especially from the church. Here, we visited the town’s renowned pottery workshop, where artisans use both traditional and modern kilns. The deep blues and geometric motifs were striking — each design reflecting both local identity and lake symbolism. Watching the slow rhythm of potters at work, it was clear this was both a livelihood and a legacy.
Our next destination was Santiago Atitlán, the largest town on the lake, located between Volcán San Pedroand Tolimán. The town’s central feature is the Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol, a Catholic church where Mayan and Spanish religious traditions remain deeply intertwined. Inside, the altars are often adorned with both Christian and Maya symbols, a testament to the enduring legacy of religious syncretism in Guatemala. Many of the statues of the saints are shaped and painted to resemble Maya figures rather than the traditional European Catholic versions.
Stanley Rother: The Martyr of Atitlán, a Catholic priest from Oklahoma, was stationed in Santiago Atitlán during Guatemala’s civil war. He learned Tz’utujil, translated the Bible, and stood firmly with his parishioners. In 1981, after receiving death threats, he refused to abandon them and was assassinated in the parish house. He became the first American-born martyr officially recognised by the Catholic Church and was beatified in 2017. His grave remains in Santiago — a place of quiet pilgrimage and lasting resistance. His picture can be seen in many of the other lake villages too.
San Pedro la Laguna, visited in 2025 had a livelier backpacker feel, with cafes and murals dotting the streets, a contrast to the deeply rooted traditions in neighbouring towns.
Finally, we stopped at San Juan la Laguna, a town famous for its women’s textile cooperatives. Here, we witnessed the traditional backstrap weaving process, where threads dyed with natural pigments are woven into intricate patterns. Each piece of fabric tells a story, with symbols and colours representing the natural world and local beliefs. We spoke with one of the cooperative leaders, who explained how the group shares costs, trains younger weavers, and uses entirely natural dyes: indigo, cochineal, and dies extracted from tree bark among them. Crucially, the cooperative insists that all members’ children must attend school; those who do not are excluded from support. Furthermore, the cooperative model allows the women to bypass the market middlemen. Their elegant showroom felt both orderly and respected — a quiet success story in a region where many vendors struggle to break even.
Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol, Santiago Atitlán, Textile and Pottery Workshops; San Juan de Laguna
Chichicastenango – A Market like No Other
One of the most memorable parts of any trip to Guatemala is a visit to Chichicastenango, home to Guatemala’s largest and most famous market. We have visited the market on each of our three visits to Guatemala and it always is a personal highlight which we never tire of experiencing. Held every Thursday and Sunday, the Chichicastenango Market is a riot of colours, sounds, and smells. Vendors sell everything from bright Mayan textiles to fresh produce, ceremonial masks, and handmade crafts. It’s a place where you can see local K’iche’ Maya traditions alive and well, from the food stalls offering traditional dishes like tamales to the stalls selling intricate ceramic figurines used in religious ceremonies.
Alongside the colourful bustle lies a complex economy. Many vendor stalls represent entire communities, selling produce on their behalf. The stalls are well stocked, and during lulls in trade, stallholders are often busy producing more goods. Alongside them, many individuals operate outside this structured network, living far more precarious lives. From the balcony of a restaurant overlooking the market core, we observed one particular stall, seemingly run by a middleman who supplied textiles to other traders. He appeared to decide whether to accept goods from individual artisans for resale — always taking his cut, of course.
In Chichicastenango, while the market may look vibrant, many artisans barely cover their costs — especially with declining global interest in woven goods and middlemen absorbing large margins. On our most recent visit in July 2025, although there were a number of tourists present, it felt as if there were far too few to provide more than a marginal livelihood to the large number of traders. The truth behind the bustle is more sobering:
- Too many sellers, not enough buyers
- Many crafts take days to make, but might not sell for a week — or at all
- Vendors often undercut one another just to make a sale, driving prices down
- Many travel long distances (sometimes several hours by bus) just to trade on Thursday or Sunday
- There’s no safety net: no sick pay, no insurance, no fixed income
Add in transport costs, market fees, and occasional turf disputes over pitches, and the margins become razor-thin. For women with children to feed — and no partner supporting them — the market isn’t a romantic tableau; it’s survival. When visitor numbers dip (as they often do in rainy season), the entire micro-economy slips further into insecurity.
n Chichicastenango, after buying textiles from various vendors, both stallholders and women selling from bundles on the ground, we were followed for some time by a woman carrying threadbare goods. Her textiles may be mass-produced, repurposed, or second-hand, not as a scam, but because it’s what she can access and afford to resell. She was polite but persistent, walking with us across the square and eventually toward our pickup point, still hoping for a sale. The quality wasn’t great, but her need was obvious.
That moment brought the whole system into focus: the colour and energy of Guatemala’s craft markets often conceal deep insecurity. In a country where tourism is patchy and opportunities few, a single purchase can mean food on the table — or not.
Woven Identity
In the Guatemalan highlands, weaving isn’t just art — it’s identity. For many Maya women, traditional textiles carry the soul of their culture: every colour, symbol, and thread reflect village origins, family heritage, and spiritual meaning. Despite economic hardship, many still wear their woven garments daily, not for tourists, but out of pride and continuity. A huipil isn’t just clothing — it’s a declaration of who you are and where you belong.
By contrast, most men no longer wear traditional dress — even in Chichicastenango — often citing cost or practicality. Exceptions exist in places like Santiago Atitlán, where a few still sport handwoven trousers or belts. But among women, the threads run deeper. Weaving is passed from mother to daughter, a living tradition at risk of fading if not supported. Buying directly from the weavers helps keep it alive — not as nostalgia, but as a vibrant, ongoing way of life.
Iglesia de Santo Tomás, and Market Chichicastenango
Santo Tomás: Sacred Fusion
A short walk from the market brings you to the Iglesia de Santo Tomás, built in 1540 atop a pre-Columbian temple platform. The stone steps leading to the church are often used by Mayan shamans who burn offerings of copal incense and perform rituals — traditions that long predate the church itself. This spiritual layering blends ancient Maya cosmology with Catholic devotion in a way that is neither hidden nor muted.
Inside the church, the air is thick with smoke from votive candles lining the floor. Worshippers pray to both Christian saints and Maya deities. Some approach the altar on their knees, murmuring prayers with focused intensity. Inside and out, the line between Catholic mass and Maya ceremony isn’t just blurred — it’s beautifully entwined.
Blended Beliefs
The steps of Santo Tomás church are no ordinary staircase — they were once part of a Maya temple and remain sacred ground for local shamans. On market days, the scent of burning copal wafts through the air as fire rituals unfold just metres from the church entrance. Inside, Catholic saints share candlelit space with Maya deities, forming a living fusion of two worlds.
This is not syncretism in theory — it’s visceral, smoky, and ongoing. To an outsider, it might seem paradoxical. But for many highland Maya, there is no contradiction: the sacred can take many forms, and spiritual continuity matters more than categorisation.
Guatemala City (called simply Guate by locals): A Modern Metropolis with Historical Depth
Our first stop in Guatemala was its sprawling capital, Guatemala City, the largest urban centre in Central America. While often bypassed by tourists, the city has a vibrant character that blends modernity with deep historical roots. We arrived in Zona 10, a chic neighbourhood known for its high-end restaurants and luxury hotels, where we stayed at the comfortable Meraki Boutique Hotel. Right next door, the Fontabella Centre provided an array of excellent dining options, but the standout bar was at Cadejo Brewing Company, a local craft brewery with an inviting atmosphere.
While Zona 10 is the hub of contemporary Guatemala City, we ventured into Zona 1, the historical heart of the capital. Here, we visited the grand Plaza Mayor de la Constitución, surrounded by some of the city’s most important landmarks. The Catedral Metropolitana (Metropolitan Cathedral), built between 1782 and 1815, is a striking example of Spanish Baroque architecture. Its imposing façade, adorned with Corinthian columns, reflects Guatemala’s colonial past, while the interior, with its gilded altars and religious artwork, stands as a testament to the enduring Catholic influence in the country.
Cathedral and Parliament Building, Guatemala City
Opposite the cathedral is the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura, an iconic green building that once served as the presidential palace. Built in the 1940s under the rule of dictator Jorge Ubico, its architecture blends neoclassical and Renaissance elements. It has ornate halls, intricate woodwork, murals, and stained glass, which reflect Guatemala’s complex history of political turmoil and artistic achievement.
A personal highlight of our stay in Guatemala City was visiting the British Cemetery, where my grandfather is buried. This small discrete cemetery within the much larger Cementerio General de la Ciudad de Guatemala is a poignant reminder of the British expatriate community that once lived here, and finding my grandfather’s grave (who died in 1983) among the 70 British tombs was a touching moment. The locals refer to this section as “los ingleses”, which while my grandfather has a traditional English name in Laxton, my uncle who is also buried there could not have a more Scottish name in McLennan, is an amusing result of the confusion surrounding the nationalities of the UK right across the region.
Central Cemetery, Guatemala City
Historically Guatemala City has had a reputation for being unsafe and has been largely avoided by most international tourists. Today especially in core zones (1, 4, 9 and 10) it is much safer and, in our experience, little different from many other Latin American cities we have visited across the region. That said issues like gang violence, extortion, and drug trafficking persist, but most visitors will be largely isolated from this, especially if they stick to core zones.
With nearly 18 million people, Guatemala is larger than every Central American country and many in Europe, including Sweden, Portugal, and even the Netherlands. Yet it remains surprisingly little understood. Most visitors focus on its colonial and Mayan past, but Guatemala’s future will be as much shaped by its vast, youthful population in its growing urban centres like Guatemala City.
Río Dulce & Livingston: Gateway to the Caribbean Edge
Leaving the highlands behind, we entered the steamy lowland tropics of Guatemala’s eastern fringe, basing ourselves at Hotel Hacienda Tijax Jungle Lodge, a peaceful retreat set on stilts over the water, surrounded by dense forest and birdsong. The lodge also offered a surprisingly adventurous two-hour horseback ridethrough uneven forest terrain, a real treat for confident riders, and excellent value at just USD 20. It was a far cry from the cobbled towns of the Altiplano.
From here, we took a boat down the Río Dulce through dramatic gorges and thick mangroves, eventually arriving at Livingston, a town unlike any other in Guatemala. Accessible only by water, Livingston feels detached from the nation’s interior — culturally, economically, and geographically. It’s home to the Garífuna people, whose Afro-Caribbean roots are evident in the language, food, and rhythms. In many ways, it felt wild, semi-autonomous, and more akin to marginal zones elsewhere in the Caribbean than the Spanish-speaking highlands, an intriguing counterpoint to the Maya heartlands.
Livingston, Rio Dulce and Flores
Flores: Backpacker Base by the Lake
We then travelled to Flores, a picturesque island town on Lake Petén Itzá, often used as a launchpad for visits to Tikal. Connected to the mainland by a causeway, it has a laid-back, youthful atmosphere with a strong backpacker presence, lots of hostels, lakeside cafés, and a touch of the party scene. Though clearly oriented towards tourism, it retains a certain charm, especially around sunset when the lake glows and music drifts from rooftop terraces.
Tikal: Giant of the Jungle
From Flores, we made a day trip to Tikal, arguably Guatemala’s most iconic archaeological site. Once one of the most powerful Maya city-states, Tikal flourished between the 4th and 9th centuries CE, its dynasty rising to regional dominance before succumbing to collapse and jungle encroachment.
Walking among the ruins, one feels dwarfed not only by the scale of the temples, many rising steeply above the treetops, but also by the surrounding jungle, much of which still hides structures waiting to be excavated. The most famous of these, Temple I (Temple of the Great Jaguar), faces Temple II across the Grand Plaza, while Temple IV offers the most panoramic viewpoint. From its summit, one can gaze across the rainforest canopy and spot the tops of other temples piercing the jungle, a scene made globally famous by its appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Tikal was not just architecturally impressive; it was also deeply entwined in Maya geopolitics, engaged in long-standing rivalry with two major centres: Caracol (in modern-day Belize) and Calakmul (in Mexico). These shifting alliances and wars were recorded on stelae and glyphs, many of which remain on site. Today, Tikal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and though only a portion has been excavated, its monumental scale, soundscape of howler monkeys, and layered history make it utterly unforgettable.
Temple of the Jaguar and Temple of the Masks, Tikal
Side Trip: Copán Ruinas, Honduras
Just across the border in Honduras, Copán Ruinas is a popular overnight side trip from Guatemala — and well worth it. Once a major centre of the Maya world (5th–9th centuries), Copán is known for its intricately carved stelae, hieroglyphic stairway, and graceful ball court, and remnants of original painted pigments on some temples offering a sculptural elegance distinct from Tikal. The site feels more sculptural than architectural, a showcase of royal portraiture and dynastic record. It’s a worthy side trip for those with time to explore the broader Maya landscape. Many Guatemalan agents run short trips here, often with a night in the relaxed and walkable town.
Guatemala Travel Tips: Buses, Shuttles, and Chicken Rides
Overland travel in Guatemala can be adventurous but is also surprisingly well-networked for international visitors. In 2024, we entered the country overland from El Salvador by public bus (via the San Cristóbal line, using the same booking system as Tica Bus), and in 2025, we exited into Belize as part of a longer journey with G Adventures — a choice driven more by safety concerns and logistical ease in Belize than by any difficulty in Guatemala itself.
Within Guatemala, we’ve grown increasingly confident with each visit. Getting around the country has become second nature: tourist-friendly shuttles connect most destinations including Antigua, Lake Atitlán, Chichicastenango, and Flores, with regular services to and from Guatemala City and La Aurora International Airport, where most international flights land.
Uber is now well-established in the capital and offers a convenient, safe way to reach Antigua often cheaper and more reliable than fixed-price taxi quotes. Traffic in Guatemala City is notorious and the additional safety factors of Uber over street taxis are an additional source of comfort.
For the more intrepid, Guatemala’s iconic “chicken buses” retired US school buses now repurposed for local transport. Painted in vivid hues, often with religious slogans and custom horns, they are a cultural experience in themselves. While not always comfortable or predictable, they’re cheap and authentic, though less comfortable, and best for short routes.
Finally, domestic air travel remains limited but functional, Flores serves as the regional gateway to Tikal and Petén, we flew there on our 2007 visit, and the route remains popular for those heading to Tikal without the time for long road journeys.
Arriving in Guatemala it is necessary to complete an on-line customs declaration, which when completed you receive a QR code to present to the customs authorities. The form can be complicated to complete, not because of any difficult questions, more because the various drop downs for the questions are not very visible.
Historical Context
Spanish Colonisation and the Fall of the Maya
Before diving into our visit, it’s essential to understand Guatemala’s complex history. The region that is now Guatemala was once the heartland of the Maya civilisation, one of the most advanced and powerful societies of the ancient world. The Maya, known for their sophisticated understanding of astronomy, mathematics, and architecture, flourished between 2000 BCE and 900 CE, building majestic cities like Tikal, Copan and El Mirador. However, by the time the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, many of these great Mayan cities had been abandoned, likely due to environmental factors, warfare, and internal strife
Traditional Maya Outfits, Chichcastenango
In 1523, the Spanish, led by Pedro de Alvarado, began their conquest of Guatemala. Alvarado, a lieutenant of Hernán Cortés, was tasked with subjugating the Maya and other indigenous groups. Despite facing fierce resistance from groups like the K’iche’ Maya in the Battle of Quetzaltenango, the Spanish eventually established control over the region. The Kingdom of Guatemala became part of the Spanish Empire, and Spanish colonisers imposed their culture, language, and religion upon the indigenous populations. Large-scale forced labour systems, such as encomiendas, devastated the local population, reducing their numbers through disease and exploitation.
The region remained under Spanish rule until 1821, when Guatemala, along with the rest of Central America, declared independence. Initially, Guatemala joined the short-lived Federal Republic of Central America alongside Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. However, internal conflicts, geographic differences, and political instability led to the dissolution of the union by 1838. Each country pursued its path, reflecting the local economic and cultural variations within the region.
Modern History
The 1954 coup in Guatemala, orchestrated by the CIA, aimed to overthrow President Jacobo Árbenz, who had initiated agrarian reforms threatening the interests of the United Fruit Company. This powerful American corporation held substantial land holdings in Guatemala and lobbied the U.S. government to intervene against Árbenz, portraying him as a communist threat. The coup marked the beginning of a long period of political instability and violence, solidifying Guatemala’s reputation as a “banana republic,” a term used to describe countries where foreign companies exert significant control over local politics and economies. In the decades that followed, Guatemala experienced a brutal civil war, lasting from 1960 to 1996, which resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and widespread human rights abuses, particularly against indigenous communities.
In recent years, a new government has made strides to address the underlying causes of insecurity, such as land inequality and poverty. Initiatives aimed at redistributing land and investing in rural development are helping to reduce social disparities. The security situation in Guatemala City, in particular, has shown improvement as a result of increased police presence and community policing strategies, which have focused on building trust between law enforcement and local residents. Efforts to combat gang violence and enhance the rule of law have also contributed to a more stable environment. While challenges remain, including corruption and ongoing inequality, these efforts are gradually transforming the landscape, fostering a more hopeful outlook for the future of the nation.
Final Thoughts
Guatemala is also a country of paradoxes. While its landscapes and cultural legacy are captivating, the reality for many of its people, especially indigenous women working in markets or weaving textiles, is one of daily precarity. Tourism is vital but limited, and even in places like Antigua and Chichi, the number of visitors doesn’t come close to meeting the economic needs of those trying to make a living. It’s a country both rich in culture and constrained by structural inequality, where a few extra purchases or moments of human connection can mean a great deal.
Our travels through Guatemala provided an extraordinary insight into a country where ancient traditions meet colonial history, and natural beauty blends with bustling modern life. Whether wandering the cobbled streets of Antigua, marvelling at the towering volcanoes around Lake Atitlán, or immersing ourselves in the vibrant colours of the Chichicastenango market, we were continually amazed by the richness of Guatemala’s cultural and natural heritage.
Dates: Wednesday 14th to Thursday 22nd February 2024 and Wednesday 16th to Sunday 27th July 2025 plus July/August 2007