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Orquigonia
Orchid lovers and even the orchid-curious should not miss the wonderfully informative guided tour of this orchid sanctuary just off the highway to Cobán. The 1½ to two hour tour takes you through the history of orchid collecting, starting with the Maya, as you wend your way along a
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Museo de Paleontología, Arqueología y Geología Ingeniero Roberto Woolfolk Saravia
Less than 2km south of the earthquake monument is the small town of Estanzuela, with its a startling museum filled with prehistoric skeletons – some reconstructed and rather menacing-looking. Most of the bones of three giant creatures are here, including those of a huge ground slot
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Iglesia y Convento de Santa Clara
Established by sisters from Puebla, Mexico, Santa Clara was inaugurated in 1734, destroyed four decades later by the great quake and abandoned. Fortunately some elements of the original structure remain intact, such as the churchs stonework facade, the arched niches along the nave
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Cuevas de Aktun Kan
Try spelunking at the impressive limestone caverns of Aktun Kan, which translates from Qeqchi Maya as Cave of the Serpent. The cave-keeper provides the authorized interpretation of the weirdly shaped stalagmite and stalactite formations, including the Frozen Falls, the Whales Tail,
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Colegio de San Jerónimo
Completed in 1757, the Colegio de San Jerónimo was used as a school by friars of the Merced order, but because it did not have royal authorization, it was taken over by Spains Carlos III and, in 1765, designated for use as the Royal Customs House. Today its a tranquil, mostly open-
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Ixcún
The second-largest stela in the Maya world can be viewed amid a protected jungle zone at the remains of a late-Classic Maya kingdom, an hours walk (7km) north of Dolores. Depicting a ruler wearing a headdress of quetzal feathers, it stands at one end of a large ceremonial center of
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Convento de Capuchinas
Inaugurated in 1736 by nuns from Madrid, the convent of Las Capuchinas was seriously damaged by the 1773 earthquake and thereafter abandoned. But thanks to meticulous renovations in recent decades, its possible to get a sense of the life experienced by those cloistered nuns, who r
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Museo Sylvanus G Morley
This museum exhibits a number of superb ceramic pieces from excavations, including incense burners and vases, with descriptions of their uses and significance (in Spanish). The usual museum building is under restoration indefinitely, during which time the ceramics are displayed at
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Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología
This museum has the countrys biggest collection of ancient Maya artifacts, but explanatory information is very sparse. Theres a great wealth of monumental stone sculpture, including Classic-period stelae from Tikal, Uaxactún and Piedras Negras; a superb throne from Piedras Negras;
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Iglesia y Convento de la Recolección
A serene air pervades the remains of the monastery of La Recolección, which stands well west of the center. Erected in the early 1700s by the Récollets (a French branch of the Franciscan order), its church was one of the largest in Antigua at the time. The earthquake of 1773 topple
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Tikal
The most striking feature of Tikal is its towering, steep-sided temples, rising to heights of more than 44m, but what distinguishes it is its jungle setting. Much of the delight of touring the site comes from strolling the broad causeways, originally built of packed limestone to ac
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Centro Intercultural de Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenangos railroad station, 1km east of the Templo de Minerva along 4a Calle, lay dormant for years until the city converted it into this centre with schools of art and dance and three fine museums. The Museo Ixkik is devoted to Maya weaving and traditional outfits, while so
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Mapa en Relieve
North of Zona 1, Zona 2 is mostly a middle-class residential district, but its worth venturing along to Parque Minerva to see this huge open-air map of Guatemala showing the country at a scale of 1:10,000. The vertical scale is exaggerated to 1:2000 to make the volcanoes and mounta
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Museo Miraflores
This excellent modern museum is inauspiciously jammed between two shopping malls a few kilometers out of town. Downstairs focuses on objects found at Kaminaljuyú , with fascinating trade route maps showing the sites importance. Upstairs there are displays on textiles and indigenous
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Túnel Rosalila & Túnel de los Jaguares
In 1999, archaeologists opened up two tunnels that allow visitors to get a glimpse of pre-existing structures below the visible surface structures. The first, Rosalila , is very short and takes only a few visitors at a time. The famous temple is only barely exposed, and behind thic
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Volcán Cruz Quemada
This dormant volcano towers 1700m over the tiny village of Santa María Ixhuatán at its base. Coffee plantations reach about one third of the way up its slopes. The summit, littered with radio towers, offers excellent views of the land running down to the coast, the Cerro la Consult
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Iglesia de San Francisco
This church is imbued with the spirit of Hermano Pedro de San José de Bethancourt, a Franciscan monk who founded a hospital for the poor in Antigua and earned the gratitude of generations. On the south side are the ruins of the adjoining monastery, with some vivid frescoes still vi
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Los Siete Altares
About 5km (1½-hours walk) northwest of Lívingston along the shore of Bahía de Amatique, Los Siete Altares is a series of freshwater falls and pools. Its a pleasant goal for a beach walk and is a good place for a picnic and swim. Follow the shore northward to the river mouth and wa
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Autosafari Chapín
About 25km southeast of Escuintla, Autosafari Chapín is a drive-through safari park and animal conservation project earning high marks for its sensitivity and success in breeding animals in captivity. Species native to Guatemala include white-tailed deer, tapir and macaws. Around t
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Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced
At the northern end of 5a Av is La Merced – a striking yellow building trimmed with plaster filigree. The squat, thick-walled structure was built to withstand earthquakes, and over three centuries after its construction it remains in pretty good shape. Only the church is still in u
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