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Allons-y > Destination Guides > The Highlands of Guatemala

4 September, 2018 By Amanda

The Highlands of Guatemala

The Highlands of Guatemala and Tikal are the two most visited areas in Guatemala. This post is about some of the things you can see and do in the Guatemalan Highlands. (Tikal will be coming in the next post.) The Highlands include Antigua: a colonial town that hasn’t changed much in a few hundred years, Lake Atitlan: a scenic lake surrounded by volcanoes and mountains, and Volcan Pacaya: an easy volcano hike up an active volcano where you can toast marshmallows over cooled lava. (If you want a serious volcano hike, then you can read about our scary trip up Volcan Acatenango.)

View of Lake Atitlan.
View of Lake Atitlan.

Antigua

A cobblestone street and colonial houses in Antigua.
A cobblestone street and colonial houses in Antigua.

When you arrive in this region, Antigua is probably the place you’ll stay. Most people who fly into Guatemala City jump into the first van (or chicken bus) they see and head straight to Antigua. (Guatemala City isn’t particularly exciting. Well, it can be, but not for good reasons.)

One of the famous chicken buses of Guatemala. The drivers are very proud of their colourful buses.
One of the famous chicken buses of Guatemala. The drivers are very proud of their colourful buses.

A Short History of Capital Cities in Guatemala

When the Spanish conquered Central America, they made their first capital city of the region in Iximche, an existing Mayan city. After several uprisings by angry Mayans, the Spanish relocated their capital to a place not far from Antigua. It’s a pretty scenic area surrounded by pointy volcanoes. But 14 years later it was destroyed by lahar flows from one of the nearby volcanoes. So they moved the capital a few kilometres to where modern day Antigua is.

Things went fairly smoothly for nearly 200 years before a series of strong earthquakes in the 1700s almost completely destroyed the city. After this the Spanish decided to move the capital city again, this time to where Guatemala City stands. And it’s stayed there ever since. That’s not to say that there haven’t been any disasters (there have been two very serious earthquakes in Guatemala City), but the Guatemalan government has decided to try and stick it out.

The Colonial City of Antigua

The Arch of Santa Catalina with Volcan Agua (Water Volcano) in the background.
The Arch of Santa Catalina with Volcan Agua (Water Volcano) in the background.
A woman prepares fruit to sell in Antigua.
A woman prepares fruit to sell in Antigua.
Inside one of the nun's convents of Antigua.
Inside one of the nun’s convents of Antigua.

But now you can wander through Antigua and see how it might’ve looked in the 1700s when the Spanish abandoned the city. It’s a very pretty colonial town, and it still has its cobblestone streets (which are actually pretty uncomfortable when you’re in bouncing around in a car).

Ruined Churches

A lot of the big churches were heavily damaged during the earthquakes and haven’t been repaired so as you walk along you’ll see ruined churches dotted around the place. Some are open to visitors, others are too damaged so they’re off-limits, and we even found one that had been turned into a craftwork training centre.

One of Antigua's many ruined churches.
One of Antigua’s many ruined churches.
Inside one of Antigua's many ruined churches. This one has been turned into a training centre for crafts like woodworking and metalworking.
Inside one of Antigua’s many ruined churches. This one has been turned into a training centre for crafts like woodworking and metalworking.

There’s plenty of volcanoes surrounding the city, which makes it very scenic. And you can climb some of them for great views (or bragging rights). You can see Volcan Fuego from Antigua, and if the weather is clear you can usually see a plume of smoke shooting out the top of it. Volcan Agua (Water Volcano) is the really tall one nearby that completely dominates the views of Antigua when the weather is clear. (But it’s not a good idea to climb it because of the armed robbers in the area.)

A street in Antigua with the Arch of Santa Catalina, and Volcan Agua rising up above everything.
A street in Antigua with the Arch of Santa Catalina, and Volcan Agua rising up above everything.
Antigua at sunrise. In the centre (mostly hidden by clouds) you can see the summit of Volcan Acatenango, and a bit to the left you can Volcan Fuego with smoke pouring out of its summit.
Antigua at sunrise. In the centre (mostly hidden by clouds) you can see the summit of Volcan Acatenango, and a bit to the left you can Volcan Fuego with smoke pouring out of its summit.

Volcan Pacaya

The top of Volcan Pacaya.
The top of Volcan Pacaya.

We actually did this hike before our “adventure” up Volcan Acatenango. It’s a relatively easy hike, it only takes an hour and a half to get to the lava fields. It was because this hike went so smoothly that we decided to try and hike Acatenango. (Acatenango did not go smoothly.)

If you want to see some volcano action but want to keep things easy, then Pacaya is a pretty good option. You can’t go near the summit here, you only go about halfway up because of safety concerns. But lava rivers flow down through the lava fields every so often, and if you get lucky you’ll get to see them while they’re still glowing. There was a really big flow a few years earlier and it flowed down to a spot where it formed a small lake. Because it was fairly deep it took nearly two years to cool down.

Close up of the recent lava flow. It's still pretty warm just below the surface rocks.
Close up of the recent lava flow. It’s still pretty warm just below the surface rocks.

Marshmallow Toasting

We were there 3 weeks after a smaller lava flow. But it had mostly cooled into purple-black rocks when we got there. But “cool” is relative. If you dug through the top 30cm of rocks it would be too hot to touch them. But a perfect temperature for toasting marshmallows. This is one of the attractions of the hike. (For any Hamish & Andy fans out there this is also the same place where they cooked their lavasagne: lasagne cooked over lava). The lavasagne didn’t go so well but the marshmallows were pretty good (even if they were a bit hot).

Cooking marshmallows over the hot rocks that used to be lava only 3 weeks earlier.
Cooking marshmallows over the hot rocks that used to be lava only 3 weeks earlier.
mmmmm.... hot toasted marshmallow...
mmmmm…. hot toasted marshmallow…
I can definitely fit this whole thing in my mouth...
I can definitely fit this whole thing in my mouth…
OMG!!!! IT'S REALLY HOT!!!
OMG!!!! IT’S REALLY HOT!!!

Unfortunately we didn’t get much of a view of the peak because it was cloudy. (I’m starting to think that climbing volcanoes in rainy season isn’t a good idea.) But if you get a good view you can see globs of lava shooting out the top of the volcano almost constantly. The clouds parted briefly so we got a short look at the summit. But I think staying overnight would get you a better lava experience.

The side of Volcan Pacaya where all the lava flows. The darker "river" of rock is a recent lava flow from 3 weeks earlier.
The side of Volcan Pacaya where all the lava flows. The darker “river” of rock is a recent lava flow from 3 weeks earlier.

Lake Atitlan

The view of Lake Atitlan from Jaibalito.
The view of Lake Atitlan from Jaibalito.

Lake Atitlan is a very popular place to visit in Guatemala. It’s not hard to see why when you get there. It’s a large lake surrounded on all sides by pointy volcanoes and rugged green mountains and cliffs with small towns and villages sprinkled around the lakeside. The mountains are so steep in some areas that the only way to reach some of the villages is by boat. Or hiking along some steep trails. You can also climb up the volcanoes and peaks around the lake for fantastic dawn views. (Though we decided not to since we were saving our strength for Acatenango.)

San Pedro Volcano from the town of San Pedro at its base.
San Pedro Volcano from the town of San Pedro at its base.
A flooded house on the shore of Lake Atitlan.
A flooded house on the shore of Lake Atitlan.
At Lake Atitlan you have beautiful views of volcanoes and rugged mountains, and then you see these hideous buildings by the lakeside.
At Lake Atitlan you have beautiful views of volcanoes and rugged mountains, and then you see these hideous buildings by the lakeside.

Panajachel and San Pedro are the two most popular towns for tourists. But there are plenty of small towns with different personalities. One of the more interesting ones is San Marcos which is the Hippy Town, where you get mystical & alternative types wandering around. But mostly what brings people to Lake Atitlan is the beautiful scenery combined with low costs so you can spend lots of time relaxing and exploring the area.

A baby coati at Lake Atitlan Nature Reserve.
A baby coati at Lake Atitlan Nature Reserve.
A baby coati trying to figure out how to climb through the fence.
A baby coati trying to figure out how to climb through the fence.
A tiny hummingbird at Lake Atitlan. The flowers are only half as wide as my thumb (which isn't very big), so this bird absolutely miniscule.
A tiny hummingbird at Lake Atitlan. The flowers are only half as wide as my thumb (which isn’t very big), so this bird absolutely miniscule.
A spider monkey at Lake Atitlan Nature Reserve.
A spider monkey at Lake Atitlan Nature Reserve.
Waterfall in Lake Atitlan Nature Reserve.
Waterfall in Lake Atitlan Nature Reserve.
Panoramic view of Lake Atitlan from San Marcos.
Panoramic view of Lake Atitlan from San Marcos.
Florence for Pedr's Fortieth Birthday
That Time We Thought We Were Going to Die in Guatemala

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Filed Under: Destination Guides, Travel Updates Tagged With: Adventure Travel, Animals, Churches, City Travel, Guatemala, landscape, Nature

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Hi, we're Amanda and Pedr and we think that you don't need to be an athlete or look like a fitness model to be able to enjoy adventurous activities. We're just two regular people who don't fit the young / beautiful / athletic traveller mould, but we're still doing all sorts of adventurous things. Read More

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