Magical in Places in Guatemala
By: Christy

Lake Atitlan

Photoby nunavut

While Atitlan is recognized to be the deepest lake in Central America, its bottom has not been completely sounded. Estimates of its maximum depth range up to 340 meters. The lake is shaped by deep escarpments which surround it and by three volcanos on its southern flank. Lake Atitlan is further characterized by towns and villages of the Maya people.

The lake is volcanic in origin, filling an enormous caldera formed in an eruption 84,000 years ago. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.

Antigua

PhotoBy Lake Atitlan

PhotoBy antiguadailyphoto.com

A world Heritage site and one of the most beautiful cities in Guatemala. The whole city is full of historic buildings, monuments, fountains and ruins. This city was founded by the Spanish in the XVII Century, and it follows the traditional design of a Main Plaza surrounded by Government and Catholic Church buildings. It's worthwhile to visit La Catedral, el Palacio de los Gobernadores, Convento de Capuchinas, Convento de Santa Clara, el Arco de Santa Catarina, Iglesia La Merced and the Handcrafts Market.

Chichicastenango

PhotoBy J. Stephen Conn

photo by: susan hardman

Chichicastenango is a small and stucco-white town, lying on the crests of mountaintops at an altitude of 1,965 meters. It is located about 140 km and 2-3 hours drive northwest of Guatemala City and is home to what is surely the most colorful native market in North and Central America, perhaps in all the Americas.

The famous handicraft market of Chichicastenango draws not only the K'iche' Maya of the surrounding region, but vendors from all over Guatemala. They represent many of Guatemala's linguistic groups such as Mam, Ixil, Kaqchikel and others, each hawking his or her products in a riotous cacophony of color, dialects and costumes, smoke, and smells. This town in the mountains of Quiche has been, since pre-Hispanic times, one of the largest trading centers in the Maya area.

Another major attraction in Chichicastenango is the 400-year old church of Santo Tomas which is situated next to the market. Shamans still use it for their rituals, burning incense and candles and in special cases a chicken for the gods. Each of the 18 stairs that lead up to the church stands for one month of the Mayan calendar year. The Mayan calendar has 18 month of 20 days each.

Info: http://www.enjoyguatemala.com

Tikal

PhotoBy laparisienneavelo

Tikal (or Tik’al according to the modern Mayan orthography) is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 to 900 AD. During this time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica such as the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico.

Learn more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rulers_of_Tikal