Antigua and Western Highlands Features

Antigua and Western Highlands Features

• When to Go
  A distinct division between rainy (November to April) and dry (May to October) seasons makes winter and...
• Antigua, Antigüeno Style
  The city packs a plethora of monuments into a compact area, but we recommend savoring the city leisurely...
• A Bell-Ringing Saint
  Guatemala points with pride and reverence to its very own saint, Pedro de San José Betancur (1626-1667)......
• Burning the Devil
  The night of each December 7, Guatemalan communities engage in the traditional Quema del Diablo ritual...
• Something Old, Something New
  Antigua's colonial magnificence disappeared in one day in 1773 following a massive earthquake. With the...
• Antigua's Volcanoes
  Four volcanoes make up this region's sector of a seismic spine that runs the width of Guatemala from...
• All That Glitters
  Several jade shops and factories populate the streets east of Antigua's Parque Central. Although Guatemala's...
• Weaving Culture, Weaving History
  It is said that the Mayan goddess Ixchel gave the art of weaving to her people. Today's Mayan descendents...
• I, Rigoberta Menchú... Mostly
  In 1992 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Guatemalan writer Rigoberta Menchú, raised in the...
• The Heroes of Santiago Atitlán
  Oklahoma native Father Stanley Rother (1935-1981) arrived as a missionary in Santiago Atitlán...
• Drinking & Smoking with the Saints
  Arguably Guatemala's most curious object of veneration is the cigar-smoking, rum-swilling deity Maximón...
• Market Days in the Highlands
  Believe it or not, highland markets mean more than Thursday and Sunday in Chichicastenango. Most towns...
• Dancing with the Dead
  Colorful cemeteries, with their turquoises and pinks, mauves and sky blues, play an integral part in...
• Coffee? Macadamia Nuts?
  The northern Las Verapaces is the country's area most culturally and historically tied to coffee, but...