Santa Cruz del Quiché - PICSPORADIC PLACES - Guatemala
Short video from my trip to Quiche this past week - even on a Monday the markets were bustling and full off activity!
Originally founded in the fifteenth century as the K’iche’ capital of K’umarcaaj Santa Cruz del Quiché was one of the first major cities and department heads of Guatemala. The city lies in the southwestern Chuacús Mountains at an elevation of 6,631 feet (2,021m). The town also functions as a market center for the Indian villages in the vicinity.
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Guatemala/Colorful beautiful Chichicastenango Market Part 10
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Chichicastenango Market:
Market days on Thursdays and Sundays
From Panajachel 1,5 hours,From Antigua 2,5 hours to Chichi Market
Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, is a town in the El Quiché department of Guatemala, known for its traditional K'iche' Maya culture. The Spanish conquistadors gave the town its name from the Nahuatl name used by their soldiers from Tlaxcala: Tzitzicaztenanco, or City of Nettles. Its original name was Chaviar.Chichicastenango serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name.
Chichicastenango is a large indigenous town, lying on the crests of mountaintops at an altitude of 1,965 m (6,447 ft). It is located about 140 km (87 mi) northwest of Guatemala City.
Chichicastenango is well known for its famous market days on Thursdays and Sundays where vendors sell handicrafts, food, flowers, pottery, wooden boxes, condiments, medicinal plants, candles, pom and copal (traditional incense), cal (lime stones for preparing tortillas), grindstones, pigs and chickens, machetes, and other tools. In the central part of the market plaza are small eateries (comedores).
Among the items sold are textiles, particularly the women's blouses. The manufacture of masks, used by dancers in traditional dances, such as the Dance of the Conquest, have also made this city well known for woodcarving.
Church of Santo Tomás:
Next to the market is the 400-year old church of Santo Tomás. It is built atop a Pre-Columbian temple platform, and the steps originally leading to a temple of the pre-Hispanic Maya civilization remain venerated. K'iche' Maya priests still use the church for their rituals, burning incense and candles. In special cases, they burn a chicken for the gods. Each of the 18 stairs that lead up to the church stands for one month of the Maya calendar year. Another key element of Chichicastenango is the Cofradia of Pascual Abaj, which is an ancient carved stone venerated nearby and the Maya priests perform several rituals there. Writing on the stone records the doings of a king named Tohil (Fate).The Chichicastenango Regional Museum lies in its grounds.Wikipedia
Coban Guatemala Attractions - Templo El Calvario
Templo El Calvario (or Iglesia Il Calvario) is church situated on top of a hill overlooking Coban and one of the top sights in this city in Alta Verapaz department of Guatemala. The biggest attraction here is the panorama of the city and since is very easy to walk to it from anywhere in the city.
There is no entrance fee and no theoretically you can visit at any hour, however it is recommended that you tour the place in day light.
Parque Nacional Las Victorias, another top sight in Coban, is situated very close, 10 min walking so you can easily combine these two attractions.
Coban Guatemala Attractions - Parque Nacional Las Victorias
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Coban, Guatemala
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Uspantan, Guatemala
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala:
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Chichicastenango:
Chicken Bus Antigua Guatemala to Panajachel Lake Atitlan:
Boat prices for traveling between towns Lake Atitlan Guatemala
Chicken Bus Guatemala City To Antigua:
Chicken Bus Antigua to El Hato - Earth Lodge:
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Los Encuentros, Guatemala
Chichicastenango Guatemala Walking Tour
Chichicastenango Guatemala Market (Mercado de Chichicastenango)
October 2017
Uspantan, Quiché, Guatemala
Mercado de Uspantan, Quiché, Guatemala
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Coban, Guatemala
Going off the beaten trail in Guatemala by traveling from Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Semuc Champey or Flores Tikal via Chichicastenango, Santa Cruz del Quiche, Uspantan, and Coban. Some travelers prefer to spend the night in Uspantan and continue the next day to Flores Tikal or Semuc Champey, via Coban (Santo Domingo de Cobán, the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz). The problem is Uspantan has very limited accommodation options compared to Coban so I decided to go all the way to Coban from Panajachel in one day.
The last bus from Uspantan to Coban leaves at 3:30 PM, be sure to be in Uspantan in time to get it.
You will need to change buses several times (in Solola, Los Encuentros, Chichicastenango, Santa Cruz del Quiche and Uspantan) before arriving in Coban. However, changing buses is very easy and the frequency between all these cities is very good (buses every 20 min, on average). You can also stop in Chichicastenango for some quick shopping if you are doing the trip during the market days of Thursday and Sunday. Just be sure to be in Uspantan before 3:30 PM, when the last bus to Coban leaves. Otherwise, you are stuck in Uspantan (which is not bad but Coban is a much better city to spend the night).
Coban Guatemala Attractions - Templo El Calvario
Coban Guatemala Attractions - Parque Nacional Las Victorias
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala:
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Chichicastenango:
Chicken Bus Antigua Guatemala to Panajachel Lake Atitlan:
Boat prices for traveling between towns Lake Atitlan Guatemala
Chicken Bus Guatemala City To Antigua:
Chicken Bus Antigua to El Hato - Earth Lodge:
Chicken Bus Panajachel Lake Atitlan to Los Encuentros, Guatemala
Chichicastenango Guatemala Walking Tour
Chichicastenango Guatemala Market (Mercado de Chichicastenango)
October 2017
From Quetzaltenango to La Mesilla, Guatemala, Central America, North America
Huehuetenango is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. It is situated in the western highlands and shares borders with México in the north and west; with El Quiché in the east, with Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango, and San Marcos to the south. The capital is the city of Huehuetenango. Huehuetenango's ethnic composition is one of the most diverse in Guatemala. While the Mam are predominant in the department, other Maya groups are the Q'anjob'al, Chuj, Jakaltek, Tektik, Awakatek, Chalchitek, Akatek and K'iche'. Each of these nine Maya ethnic groups speaks their own language. The department of Huehuetenango takes its name from the city of the same name, which serves as the departmental capital. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language of central Mexico, given by the indigenous allies of the Spanish conquistadors during the Spanish Conquest of Guatemala. It is usually said to mean place of the elders but may be a corruption of place of the ahuehuete trees. Huehuetenango covers an area of 7,403 square kilometres (2,858 sq mi) in western Guatemala and is bordered on the north and west by Mexico. On the east side it is bordered by the department of El Quiché and on the south by the departments of Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango and San Marcos. The department encompasses almost the entire length of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountain range although there is a wide difference in altitude across the department, from heights of 3,352 metres (10,997 ft) above mean sea level to as low as 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level, encompassing an equally wide variation in local climate, ranging from mountain peaks where the temperature sometimes falls below freezing to tropical lowland rainforest. The department possesses various rivers that flow into the Chixoy River, also known as the Río Negro, which flows into the system of rivers forming the drainage basin of the Usumacinta River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The most important tributaries of the Chixoy in Huehuetenango are the Hondo and Xecunabaj rivers, which flow into the department from the neighbouring departments of El Quiché and Totonicapán. The Cuilco River enters the department from neighbouring San Marcos and crosses into the Mexican state of Chiapas, where it joins with the Grijalva River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Its most important tributaries in Huehuetenango are the Apal, Chomá and Coxtón rivers. The Ixcán River has its source near Santa Cruz Barillas and flows northwards towards Mexico where it joins the Lacuntún River, a tributary of the Usumacinta. The Nentón River is formed in the municipality of San Sebastián Coatán by the joining of the rivers Nupxuptenam and Jajaniguán. It flows westwards across the border into Mexico where it empties into the Presa de la Angostura reservoir. The Selegua River has its source in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes and flows northwards, crossing the border into Chiapas, where it joins the Cuilco River to form the Grijalva River, to flow onwards to the Gulf of Mexico. Its principal tributaries are the Pino, Sibilá, Ocubilá, Naranjo, Colorado, Torlón, Mapá ahd Chicol rivers. The largest body of standing water in the department is Laguna Yolnabaj, in the extreme north, close to the border with Mexico. Smaller lakes include Laguna Maxbal, Laguna Yolhuitz, and Laguna Seca, all in the northeast of the department. In 2004 the department was recorded as having 988,855 inhabitants, by 2008 this had grown to 1,056,566, making the department the second most populated in Guatemala, after the capital. Over 70% of the population are calculated to be living in poverty, with 22% living in extreme poverty and being unable to meet basic necessities. The majority of the population (variously estimated at 64--75%) belong to indigenous Maya groups with the remainder being Spanish-speaking Ladinos. The Ladinos tend to be concentrated in towns and villages including Huehuetenango, Cuilco, Chiantla, Malacatancito, La Libertad, San Antonio Huista and La Democracia, which have a relatively low indigenous population. In the rest of the department, the Maya groups make up the majority of the population as much in the towns as the countryside. Huehuetenango has the greatest number of Mam Maya in Guatemala, although there are also Mam speakers in the departments of Quetzaltenango and San Marcos, and in the Mexican state of Chiapas. In 2008, 58% of the population of the department was aged 19 years or under.
Semuc Champey, Alta Verapaz - Guatemala
Recorrido por SEMUC CHAMPEY
Semuc Champey is a natural monument in the department of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala near the Q'eqchi' Maya town of Lanquin. It consists of a natural 300m limestone bridge, under which passes the Cahabon River. Atop the bridge is a series of stepped turquoise pools that is a popular swimming attraction.
Destination Information:
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala - Ancient Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala is a small city surrounded by volcanoes in southern Guatemala. It’s renowned for its Spanish colonial buildings, many of them restored following a 1773 earthquake that ended Antigua’s 200-year reign as Guatemala’s colonial capital.
It is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Architectural landmarks include baroque La Merced church, noted for its ornate yellow-and-white facade. It's integral to the city’s famous Semana Santa, a holy week with parades and rituals.
Antigua Guatemala serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It also serves as the departmental capital of Sacatepéquez Department.
Antigua Guatemala means Ancient Guatemala and was the third capital of Guatemala.
Three large volcanoes dominate the horizon around Antigua. The most commanding, to the south of the city, is the Volcán de Agua or Volcano of Water, some 3,766 metres high. When the Spanish arrived, the inhabitants of the zone, Kakchikel Mayas, called it Hunapú. To the west of the city are a pair of peaks, Acatenango, which is 3,976 metres high, and the Volcán de Fuego or Volcano of Fire, some 3,763 metres high. Fuego is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Steam and gas issue from its top daily, a larger eruption occurred in September 2012.
Maya civilization
The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples, noted for the Maya hieroglyphic script, the only known fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. The Maya civilization developed in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. This region consists of the northern lowlands encompassing the Yucatán Peninsula, and the highlands of the Sierra Madre, running from the Mexican state of Chiapas, across southern Guatemala and onwards into El Salvador, and the southern lowlands of the Pacific littoral plain.
The Archaic period, prior to 2000 BC, saw the first developments in agriculture and the earliest villages. The Preclassic period (c. 2000 BC to 250 AD) saw the establishment of the first complex societies in the Maya region, and the cultivation of the staple crops of the Maya diet, including maize, beans, squashes, and chili peppers. The first Maya cities developed around 750 BC, and by 500 BC these cities possessed monumental architecture, including large temples with elaborate stucco façades. Hieroglyphic writing was being used in the Maya region by the 3rd century BC. In the Late Preclassic a number of large cities developed in the Petén Basin, and Kaminaljuyu rose to prominence in the Guatemalan Highlands. Beginning around 250 AD, the Classic period is largely defined as when the Maya were raising sculpted monuments with Long Count dates. This period saw the Maya civilization develop a large number of city-states linked by a complex trade network. In the Maya Lowlands two great rivals, Tikal and Calakmul, became powerful. The Classic period also saw the intrusive intervention of the central Mexican city of Teotihuacan in Maya dynastic politics. In the 9th century, there was a widespread political collapse in the central Maya region, resulting in internecine warfare, the abandonment of cities, and a northward shift of population. The Postclassic period saw the rise of Chichen Itza in the north, and the expansion of the aggressive K'iche' kingdom in the Guatemalan Highlands. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire colonised the Mesoamerican region, and a lengthy series of campaigns saw the fall of the last Maya city in 1697.
Classic period rule was centred around the concept of the divine king, who acted as a mediator between mortals and the supernatural realm. Kingship was patrilineal, and power would normally pass to the eldest son. A prospective king was also expected to be a successful war leader. Maya politics was dominated by a closed system of patronage, although the exact political make-up of a kingdom varied from city-state to city-state. By the Late Classic, the aristocracy had greatly increased, resulting in the corresponding reduction in the exclusive power of the divine king. The Maya civilization developed highly sophisticated artforms, and the Maya created art using both perishable and non-perishable materials, including wood, jade, obsidian, ceramics, sculpted stone monuments, stucco, and finely painted murals.
Maya - Facts & Summary - HISTORY
Civilization.ca - Mystery of the Maya - Maya civilization
Maya Civilization - Ancient History Encyclopedia
The Maya: History, Culture & Religion - LiveScience
Maya Civilization - Indians
Mayan Civilization - Aztec History
MAYAN CIVILIZATION
Fuego volcano eruption in Guatemala, Volcán de Fuego (Volcano of Fire), Chimaltenango, Escuintla
Fuego volcano eruption in Guatemala,
Volcán de Fuego (Volcano of Fire) is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. It sits about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Antigua Guatemala, one of Guatemala’s most famous cities and a tourist destination .[1] It has erupted frequently since the Spanish conquest.
El volcán de Fuego es un estratovolcán situado entre los departamentos de Sacatepéquez, Escuintla y Chimaltenango, al centro-sur de Guatemala.
El volcán de Fuego es uno de los más impresionantes de Centroamérica. Sus erupciones son violentas, y probablemente es el volcán más activo desde la Conquista, a tal extremo que se afirma que el conquistador Pedro de Alvarado pudo verlo en erupción en el año de 1524, según el mismo lo reportó en epístolas. Su nombre indígena es Chi'gag, que se traduciría del idioma cakchiquel al español como donde está el fuego.
El Volcán de Fuego tiene una altura de 3763 msnm. Prácticamente se encuentra descubierto de vegetación más arriba de los 1300 metros, donde básicamente sólo puede encontrarse lava. El volcán de Fuego tiene la forma de un cono que se alarga considerablemente hacia el sur, formando el pie de monte hacia la costa sur. Debajo de él se constituye una meseta orográfica de múltiples caractéristicas geológicas. Forma una tríada de colosos con los volcanes de Agua y Acatenango, próximos a su base; de hecho, comparte el mismo bloque volcánico con el volcán Acatenango, y originalmente ambos eran referidos por los colonos españoles como «los volcanes de Fuego».1 Del volcán nacen varias fuentes hidrícas, que se convierten en ríos descendientes hacia la costa sur, en un área de riqueza mineral, óptima para la agricultura.