Best of Guatemala
Guatemala is an often skipped over country on Central America itineraries, but today you’ll now have 5 reasons to visit this little gem nestled between Mexico, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras!
Today I’m turning over the reigns to Gemma Cleaver over at Gemma Jane Adventures. She is currently an expat from the U.K. living in New Zealand. I came across Gemma on Twitter, and saw some of her blog posts and photos on Central America, which is a place that I have not ventured to yet. Reading her posts on the region inspired me to actually realize I need to head down to Central America and specifically Guatemala.
So here it is: The Best of Guatemala with Gemma Jane!
Guatemala is a vibrant, varied country with lots of history, both ancient and modern, plenty of natural beauty from lush cloud forests to blue lakes and barren volcanos. Guatemalan’s are friendly, helpful people, and I had no problems traveling around as a pretty naïve solo female backpacker. I had a brilliant time there, and I would love to go back again. It’s no wonder so many travellers do just that! I never quite got to the Garifuna town of Livingstone, or the beautiful pools of Rio Dulce, which certainly gives me an excuse to return (not that I need one) but I loved visiting all of these places, and would certainly revisit them all!
Tikal
I was blown away by the Mayan Ruins of Tikal, once an important capital, dominating Mayan culture. Most structures are dated between 200-900AD but the sites dates back to the 4th Century BC. That’s pretty old.
My group had an English speaking local guide of Mayan descent, as many Guatemalan’s are. It was brilliant to learn about this great civilisation, which paid great heed to the stars, using them as a calendar and building temples in a similar way to Stonehenge in the UK. He also told us about his life, Guatemalan’s have strong family ties, and I learnt a lot during my visit.
El Mirador
El Mirador is also an important Mayan Ruin, but one which has barely been excavated and is only reached by a 2 day hike through the Jungle, or a helicopter flight. It’s off the beaten path Guatemala, and very eye opening as the local 5hr bus journey to reach the start was mostly transporting local farmers with their machete’s and battered looking guns, which I saw in the possession of some teenagers.
The hike was a little monotonous, picking our way along tracks rutted with mules hooves (which you can also ride) but the ruins made up for it. After the carefully restored temples of Tikal, seeing ruins with trees growing out of them was fascinating, and whole structures were buried in unnatural mounds which now were one with the forest. I saw the sunrise and sunset from El Tigre, with a horizon of forest, was pretty spectacular.
Antigua
The colonial Spanish city of Antigua is unique and beautiful. It’s small enough to explore the cobbled streets by foot, perfect for wandering along, discovering cosy cafes, unexpected churches and Guatemalan life. There are 3 nearby volcanoes which can be visited easily from the city, I hiked Vulcan Pacaya, which is still active and erupts regularly. It’s usually safe to climb, but wear good shoes as the lava rocks are warm, and we toasted marshmallows over the rocks, which was an awesome experience. I visited during Easter, when the streets were awash with Alfombras and busy with processions. It was a great festival, with night markets and delicious street food, which made my visit to this spectacular city even more special.
Semuc Champey
The natural limestone pools of Semuc Champey are a sight to behold. From the lookout it’s one of the most unique river valleys in the world, and up close the blue water is clear and inviting. The waterfalls provide great water slides, and the area is busy with tourists and locals alike.
It’s a bit of a trek to reach, involving several hours on a bus, the last of which is down a narrow, windy, pot holed dirt road, and from the nearby town of Lanquin I reached my hostel in the back of a pick up truck, which makes reaching there more of a real Guatemalan adventure.
Lake Atitlan
I struggled to leave San Pedro, one of the 13 towns on the shores of Lake Atitlan, which is a huge volcanic lake, with yet more volcanos rising on the shore. I spent my time at Spanish school, living in a host family and I learnt more about Guatemala than I can remember. Exploring the lake and towns was a brilliant way to while away time.
Each town was very distinctive, and the local women all wore vibrant traditional clothes. It’s a brilliant place to unwind and settle in, and I was not surprised to find that many of my fellow students stayed a week or 2 longer than planned. It was my favourite place in Guatemala, I had a wonderful time there and I loved the laid back lifestyle and interaction with the friendly locals. It’s the place and reason that really makes me want to return.
By: Gemma Cleaver of gemmajaneadventures.com
About Gemma:
Traveling has always been a dream of mine, unsurprisingly as I grew up on tales of my parents adventures. After working as a Cell Biologist for a few years I left everything behind me in the UK in March 2014, and set off on what became 4 1/2 months traveling solo in Central America, before heading to New Zealand. I’ve learnt Spanish, become PADI certified, done some conservation volunteering and plenty of hiking. Currently I’m working, saving, blogging, and dreaming of future travels.
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If you’d like to read up more on Gemma’s Adventures click here to visit her blog!
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All photos are property of GemmaJaneAdventures.
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This entry was posted in Blogger stuff, Central America, Hiking trips., Inspirations, Travel Advice
4 thoughts on “Best of Guatemala with Gemma Jane Adventures!”
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Thanks for featuring me Nicole, and for writing such lovely things about me too!
It turned out great! I really like your pic collages. Thanks for writing this up
Great guest post! This is definitely inspiring me for my future Guatemala travels
Great post!
Do check out our blog – https://imvoyager.wordpress.com