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Tikal
(Petén) |
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Tikal is an abandoned Maya city with towering temples surrounded by miles of pristine rain forest. Maya glyphs are currently being deciphered in real time and visitors become witnesses of the discovery of a culture which was believed to be lost in the forest forever.
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Time and Money needed:
1 ay day and
US$ 100 |
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Semuc Champey
(Alta Verapaz) |
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Paradise on earth. Sorry, you can′t leave Guatemala without having been here. A small spring of turquoise water forms huge travertine pools over a thundering white water stream.
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Time and Money needed:
1 ay day and
US$ 35 |
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Atitlán
(Atitlán) |
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When the hippies migrated south, they discovered their paradise: Lake Atitlan. A huge volcanic cauldron, filled with water, because three volcanoes clog the drainage to the Pacific ocean. Around the lake there are 12 idyllic Indian villages, named after the 12 apostles.
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Time and Money needed:
2 ays days and
US$ 80 |
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El Mirador
(Petén) |
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El Mirador is an abandoned Maya city, overgrown by the jungle. Since 1990 it is being excavated by a genius American potato farmer. In Google Earth you can see enormous causeways which interconnected major Maya cities 2000 years ago. You get there with pack horses - not on the causeways but hiking through the swamp. Fascinating relieves and temples have been unearthed!
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Time and Money needed:
5 ays days and
US$ 750 |
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Antigua Guatemala
(Sacatepequez) |
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In 1990 it was still a heap of rubble left over from a series of earthquakes which roll through from three volcanoes. Now Antigua is the artificial colonial showcase of Guatemala, serving as tourist base camp for the exploration of the interior. The Spanish Schools of Antigua are a bargain. Come as a blank piece of paper and go speaking Spanish and knowing Latin ways.
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Time and Money needed:
1 ay day and
US$ 35 |
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Chicacnab
(Alta Verapaz) |
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Q´eqchi guides take you to the beautiful cloud forest at 2200 m amsl. Enjoy traditional Maya hospitality with finger-licking meals and cozy nights. Quetzal prime time is March through June.
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Time and Money needed:
2 ays days and
US$ 50 |
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Chichicastenango
(Atitlán) |
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Chichicastenango is located on a mesa surrounded by a maze of ravines. Big Maya families travel to this ancient market town, selling, among others, fresh gorge fish and apples. On the steps of the old church, they burn copal and pray for the next month. Very few tourists sit down at the market´s meat and veggie pots to enjoy the crowd.
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Time and Money needed:
3 ours hours and
US$ 25 |
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Pacaya
(Guatemala) |
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Every time I climb the Pacaya volcano, I find the peak has changed completely. At times, Lava ejects from the crater, falling down like cowpats. Lava runs down the flanks, slowly filling a large former caldera to the north with a maze of frozen guts.
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Time and Money needed:
1 ay day and
US$ 10 |
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Livingston
(Izabál) |
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Livingston is a fun town on the beautiful Caribbean sea at the mouth of Rio Dulce. The afro-American population lives on remittances of their relatives from the US. Let your hair be styled by local girls and take them out to dance Punta at night. Practical work will be performed by the Maya population.
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Time and Money needed:
2 ays days and
US$ 90 |
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Rio Dulce
(Izabál) |
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Rio Dulce connects Lake Izabal with the bay of Livingston. It winds through a steep jungle-covered karst landscape. Egrets, kingfishers, pelicans, and canoes are pursuing fish in the shadow of the shoreline trees. Taking a plunge you can taste saltwater in lower strata. Water bikes, yachts and barges cruise the center of the stream. There are many Marina′s where you can get contact to yacht owners.
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Time and Money needed:
3 ours hours and
US$ |
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Laguna Lachuá
(Alta Verapaz) |
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Lake Lachuá is like a little Caribbean sea set down in the tropical rainforest of Alta Verapaz. The lake is surrounded by lush vegetation including mahogany and cedar trees, and fauna such as jaguars (whose footprints can often be seen around the lake).
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Time and Money needed:
1 ay day and
US$ |
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Candelaria Caves
(Alta Verapaz) |
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The Candelaria Caverns are sacred to the Q´eqchi Mayans. The Candelaria River passes through a egg carton landscape via a subterranean network of grottoes. The principle gallery is monumental, with a width of 20 to 30 meters and a height of up to 60 meters. You can explore the caves at several points hiking or tubing.
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Time and Money needed:
4 ours hours and
US$ |
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Selempim
(Izabál) |
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On Lake Izabál across from El Estór, Defensores de la Naturaleza have established an aquatic wildlife refuge and built a beautiful Biological Station, which has been withheld from decaying almost successfully. It has since been left in oblivion, and this makes it a most charming place to visit. Spend a lazy day drifting through the numerous water arms of the Polochíc mouth, looking for howler monkeys in the trees and for the Manatee in the water.
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Time and Money needed:
2 ays days and
US$ |
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Chelemhá
(Alta Verapaz) |
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On fine days, you can enjoy views to the Sierra de las Minas and to Lake Izabal, on wet days you step into one of the most beautiful tropical forests and photograph bright bromeliads and dripping mosses. This is the ideal area to watch Quetzal birds. Three Swiss bought this remote cloud forest in order to protect it. They built a lodge where you can enjoy home made bread and jams.
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Time and Money needed:
3 ays days and
US$ |
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Monterrico
(Costa Sur) |
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This fisher′s village on Guatemala´s straight south coast suffers violent surf. The treat: being shaken up by the surf, burnt by the sun, dozing with a sun downer, tropical dances at night and mosquitoes to spoil paradise. Birdwatchers or shrimp fishers go canoeing into the mangrove hinterland. At night everybody looks for egg laying turtles in order to snatch the eggs and hand them over to conservationists or dealers.
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Time and Money needed:
2 ays days and
US$ 70 |
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Contact webmaster of www.guatemalastory.com
at:
Skype contact: "guatemala365" or "study.spanish"
+502 7952-3762
Office Hours 8:30 to 17:30 (GMT - 06:00) América Central
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