Yes this is it! It feels a bit like “Indiana Jones” in South America when you travel around Guatemala short for GTM by abbreviationfinder. Here are fantastic antiquities from the ancient Mayan kingdom. Discover a varied and exciting nature with rainforest, volcanoes, beautiful lakes and huge ruins from the Mayan period. In the middle of the journey of discovery of the ancient culture, you come across native animals in the jungle such as monkeys, parrots and toucans (you know the ones there with big yellow beaks). See other countries in North and Central America on countryaah.
Guatemala – 9 days
Day 1 Departure from Sweden
Day 2 Arrival in Guatemala
You will be met at the airport by a local English speaking guide for transfer to and check-in at the hotel in Antigua. This is the country’s ancient capital and one of Latin America’s most charming cities.
The evening on its own.
Day 3 Antigua
Located at an altitude of 1,530 meters, Antigua is one of the oldest and most beautiful cities on the American continent. The location is fantastic; the city is surrounded by three mighty volcanoes, Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. The volcano Fuego (which means fire) is easily recognizable on the plume of smoke and sometimes in the evening you can see the glowing lava seeking its way down the slopes! The city was founded in 1543 as La Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Goathemala and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 due to its very well-preserved colonial architecture from the 16th and 18th centuries. In the morning you do a city tour to get to know this gem of a city better.
Day 4 Antigua – Atitlan
The coffee from this region is world famous for its high quality and during the morning you visit a coffee plantation outside the city with your guide. After your tour and of course tasting, you continue your journey through Guatemala’s beautiful countryside towards Lake Atitlan. Your hotel is fantastically beautiful with several mighty volcanoes in the background and around the lake are a number of small, very traditional villages.
Day 5 Atitlan
You will be picked up for transfer to San Juan La Laguna where you will initially visit the local textile cooperative. You will also visit some local artists in their homes to see their crafts. A little later you go by boat on Lake Atitlan for lunch on the way to the largest village, Santiago Atitlan. Here they worship a strange figure named Maximon. This man is said to be a mixture of the biblical Judas, the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado and ancient Mayatro. You visit the insignificant house where people come to sacrifice tobacco and alcohol to Maximon, who sits on a throne, usually with a smoking cigarette in his mouth as the “priest” cries at regular intervals – a unique experience! You will also have time on your own to walk around the village on your own. Transport to Antigua and the hotel.
Day 6 Antigua – El Remate
You have a calm and pleasant morning before it’s time to leave for the airport in Guatemala City. In the afternoon you fly domestic to Flores in the northern parts of the country. On arrival you will be met by your new local guide for transfer to your hotel, about an hour’s drive from the airport. Your hotel is one of the creations of Francis Ford Coppola and offers high-class accommodation in the middle of Guatemala’s rainforest. The lodge overlooks Lake Peten-Itza and the surroundings are always filled with tropical birds and monkeys.
Day 7 El Remate with Tikal
You get up early in the morning to see the morning mist light over Tikal’s mighty pyramids. These magnificent ruins are, of course, one of the five great Mayan ruins, and the vast majority consider this huge temple area to be by far the most impressive of them all. The pyramids protrude from the dense jungle and when you walk around among the ruins you have great opportunities to see many of the rainforest animals. Monkeys, parrots, toucans – the rainforest is teeming with life. A local specialist guide will show you around and you have time to explore the fantastic Tikal on your own.
Day 8 El Remate – Guatemala City
After breakfast and check-out transfer to the airport and flight to Guatemala City. In the afternoon / evening your flight goes to Europe.
Day 9 Homecoming
