Guatemala Encompassed

Arrival in Guatemala City. You will be picked-up from the airport and transferred to your hotel in the city for overnight accommodations. Please look out for our representative holding up a sign with your name on it. Overnight: Barcelo Hotel or similar.

Meals:  Nil

An early morning start greets you as you get picked up to be taken for a panoramic sightseeing tour of Guatemala City. Key highlights include the National Palace, Cathedral and Civic Centre complex while also visiting residential areas (No shorts or bathing suits permitted). After continuing to Iximché, the capital of the Chackchiqueles dating from the 15th Century. This unique site includes several pyramid-temples, palaces plus two Mesoamerican ball courts. Declared a Guatemalan National Monument in the 1960’s, there’s evidence of human sacrifice plus preserved remains of murals on some of the buildings. Check out the small museum on site that displays a number of sculptures and ceramics before continuing onto Chichicastenango for your accommodation for the night. Overnight: Mayan Inn or similar.

Meals:  B

Today is market day in Chichicastenango! Hundreds of Indians from the surrounding countryside gather to barter their goods and products in this colourful and picturesque open-air market. While here step inside the 400-year-old Church of Santo Tomás (No shorts or bathing suits are allowed inside the church. No photographs inside the church) and witness the captivating religious ceremonies held on the steps. Continue on to Quetzaltenango, the second most important city in Guatemala due to its size, industrial, cultural and commercial activity. The city has preserved its colonial architecture and if you keep an eye out you can see several neo-classical buildings located around the Centroamerica Park (hearth of the city). East of the plaza lies the Espiritu Santo Cathedral with its two facades. The first, constructed in 1535, is highly ornamental whereas the latter is of neo-classical style, forming part of the structure made of several domes dating back to 1899. On the southern end of the plaza is the La Casa de la Cultura, the Natural History Museum which contains a collection of pre-Hispanic pieces and historical memorabilia. Upon arrival into the city, you will be transferred to your hotel for overnight accommodations. Overnight: Latam Hotel or similar.

Meals:  B

Today we will head off to visit Almolonga market, known for its vegetable and fruits that are cultivated in small parcels which are then exported to Central America and Mexico. We then continue onto San Andrés Xecul, which houses the famous yellow church, Iglesia del Calvario. This important 16th Century temple was painted so bright to be representative of the local huipil (indigenous blouse). We continue onto Sololá for a market visit before heading onto Lake Atitlán. Known as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, marvel at the crystalline-azure waters in the crater bowl. This is an ideal place to come in contact with Guatemalan folklore, twelve Indian villages surround the Lake, and their inhabitants are descendants from the great Quiché, Cackchiquel, and Tzutuhil nations. Tonight, we stay at Lake Atitlán. Overnight: Porta Hotel del Lago or similar.

Meals:  B

This morning, we will take an early motorboat across Lake Atitlán to get to one of the twelve lake-shore villages surrounding the lake, the picturesque village of San Juan La Laguna. Afterwards we continue onto Antigua, the more important and probably the most charming city of colonial Guatemala. Antigua was founded by the Spaniards in 1543 but today is a beautiful blend of ruins, restored colonial buildings and new buildings in the same style. In 1965 the city was declared a “Monument of America” and is where we rest our heads for the night. Overnight: Porta Hotel Antigua or similar.

Meals:  B

Today we spend the morning exploring the amazing city of Antigua. Visit the Central Plaza, which is surrounded by the antique Cathedral, the Municipal Government Building, and the Palace of the Captains General; colonial churches and monasteries, primitive foot-looms where colourful textiles are woven, and a jade factory where this stone is worked into beautiful jewellery. Surrounding the city are the huge volcanoes that make this part of the world so dramatic. Antigua satisfies everyone’s desire to see a perfect colonial city. The remainder of the day is free to explore. Overnight: Porta Hotel Antigua or similar.

Meals:  B

After lunch return to Guatemala City. Overnight: Barcelo Hotel or similar.

Meals:  B

We have a long day ahead, at 4am you will be picked up at your hotel to transfer to the airport for your flight across to Flores Petén. Don’t worry, it’s not just a flight today, once you arrive you will be transferred across to Sayaxché. From here catch the boat trip across to Ceibal, one of the best-preserved Mayan cities in the region, overlooking the scenic La Pasión River. One of the earliest constructed structures from the Mayan World, the ruins date back to 900BC, wander around La Pirámide Circular, El Altar Zoomorfo, El Jugo de Pelota and the two Las Calzadas. After a long and activity packed day you will be taken across to Santa Elena where you’ll spend the next two nights. Overnight: Camino Real Tikal or Villa Maya Hotel or similar. The maximum check-in luggage weight for the domestic flights is 20 pounds (approx 9kg) and 10 pounds (approx 4.5kg) for hand luggage.

Meals:  B,L

Today we continue our adventure in Flores and head out to the third largest Maya city of Yaxhá. This archaeological site was a great importance to Mayan development due to its strategic location and one of the few that retains its original name, meaning Green (Yax) Water (Ha). At its peak it had over 1000 structures, built from 600BC, though only 14 structures have been restored to date and is the most accessible part of the National Park. Walk along ancient Mayan roads past pyramids covered with jungles, the ball court and the astronomical centre. We visit one of the key highlights of Temple 216, the tallest in the complex, which offers 360 degrees vistas of the area displaying unparalleled landscape of the two Sacnab-Yaxhá lagoons and the jungle of the Yaxhá National Park. After navigating across the Yaxhá lagoon we head to the archaeological site of Topoxté. Playing a key role in trade routes between the Matan highlands and the Yucatan peninsula, the majority of Topoxté's structures are from postclassic origins although there is evidence of two distinct periods of occupation. Several plazas are temples are being restored and shares similar characteristics with other sites in the region. Keep an eye out for howler monkeys above your head but you can also see both crocodiles and turtles sunning themselves along the shores. After a long day of historical learnings, head back to your accommodation for the night. Overnight: Camino Real Tikal or Villa Maya Hotel or similar.

Meals:  B,L

Today, you will go back more than 2,000 years in time when you visit the famous Tikal National Park, probably the most well-known Mayan ruin in Guatemala. Tikal is situated in the heart of the jungle occupied, as a major site of Mayan civilisation, from the 6th century B.C. to the 10th century A.D. The winding, mossy jungle paths open up to a surreal world of pyramids and temples, where howler monkeys, frogs and birds like toucans create a cacophonous crescendo. The inner urban zone fills almost 400 hectares and contains palaces, temples, ceremonial platforms, ball courts, terraces, roads, large and small squares - the list goes on! You will start with observing the full model off Tikal to give you an indication of the amazing size of the archaeological site, most of which has not been excavated. Multiple historic discoveries have occurred here including the deciphering of the hieroglyphs, considered the most sophisticated writing system created in the New World, in the 1960s. Tikal has a number of step pyramids whose forty-four or so metres you can climb to gain a view across the jungle canopy. From the maze of courtyards of the Great Plaza, temples spread out into the jungle, including the Temple of the Grand Jaguar, and the North Acropolis of King Moon Double Comb. The Mayans settled in Tikal around 700 BC and had started to build the grand North Acropolis by 200 BC. By the time of Christ, the Grand Plaza was being built from stone, but it wasn’t until AD 250 that Tikal became a religious and cultural centre. It reached its glory under King Great Jaguar Paw in AD 300 and underwent a renaissance around AD 700 under King Moon Double Comb, before falling into a mysterious decline, like other Mayan centres, around AD 900. After a busy day exploring this amazing site, head back to Flores airport to return to Guatemala City by air, you’ll be met upon arrival and taken to your accommodation for the night. Overnight: Barcelo Hotel or similar.

Meals:  B,L

Transfer to the airport for your onward flight.

Meals:  B