Guatemala Highlands
can be divided in three parts, Western,
Central and Eastern. Not only
for convenience, but for geographic, and population differences.
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Yulchunab,
Ixtatán, Huehuetenango |
The Western
Highlands show occupation since the Pre Classic, but no major center
lies there, although almost all the important Post Classic sites are
there, like
Zaculeu,
Chuitinamit,
Gu’marcaj, and
Iximché, it is now
heavily populated by the Mam,
T'zu'tuh'il, Ki’ch’es
and Kak’chik'el nations, and many other linguistic groups, the landscape is beautiful
and includes Pine forest, fertile
valleys and beautiful
Lakes like Lake
Atitlán in Sololá, world renown for is beauty,
Volcanoes, some of them
Active and the Tallest in Central America (Tajumulco in San Marcos), The
Cities and Villages are a destination by itself, like
Xel'ajuh or Quetzaltenango,
were according to the
Popol Vuh, the
battle within the Conquistadores
and the K'íché hero Tecún Umán,
took Place, it is the second largest in the country, and is
more than 2000 m. above sea level,
Chichicastenango with its unique market days (Sundays and Thursdays)
that is the most colorful and maybe the Largest of its kind in
Latin América. In These Highlands You will understand why Guatemala is
the most Colorful country in the world.

Preclassic sites in the Western Highlands
The Central
Highlands, were
Guatemala City is located, has probably one of the most
important archeological sites in the country, not for its big
structures, but for its long occupation (2000 BC to 1200 AD),
maby due to its Obsidian quarries (El Chayal),
that the sites of
Naranjo followed by
Kaminal Juyú,
controlled for centuries as well as, or the commerce routes between the
Pacific Lowlands, the Highlands and the
Petén Lowlands,
the site
is located in Guatemala city, and has been engulf by it, only a
small part is preserved, Kaminal Juyú, Naranjo and Miraflores,
among several
smaller sites are located in
the western part of the city.
Mixco Viejo
a Pok'omán city conquered by the
Kak'chik'els the site
is located 60 Km north of Guatemala city on a well paved road.
The Third Capitol of
the "General Captaincy of
Guatemala", that included Chiapas,
Yucatán, Tabasco, Beliza and all Central América,
Antigua Guatemala is in this area
too, a UNESCO World Heritage Monument, well known all over the world.
The first was Tecpán near
Iximché, and the Second
Ciudad Vieja, near
Antigua , that was destroyed by a Mud slide from the Agua Volcano.

Chiwi Tinamit,
Rabinal, Baja Verapaz
The Verapaz Region,
to the north of Guatemala City, which has sites from the pre Classic such as
El Portón in Baja Verapaz,
where the
earliest
Maya Hieroglyphic carving has been found (400
BC) and Classic such as Las Limas, Yalpemech, Rarxrulhá Viejo, among
others, and
is home to El Quetzal Biotope
also has a landscape that is close to what could be a
Natural paradise, with
Caves such as
Candelaria,
Hul Nal
Yé
and
Lanquín,
Lagoons such as
Labná, Lachuá and Sepalau, and
Rivers
like the Cahabón with the Semuc Champey pools, and
its Class III-IV rapids, or
tubing in the Candelaria river
that goes into seven caves, that make this region a must destination
during Your visit to
Guatemala.
See
Landscapes Galleries

Mesoamerican Commerce Routes and goods production
from the Pre
Classic to the Post Classic
The Eastern
Highlands are a semi--dry environment, dominated by the Motagua river
Valley, its Archeology had been overlooked until recently, but is
very
rich in sites that show occupation since the Pre Classic with more than
152 sites such as Vega del Cobán in Teculután, Zacapa and
Guaytán
in San Agustín Acasaguastlán, El Progreso, both large
Classic Maya sites that had importance for its
Obsidian and
Jadeite quarries
and
workshops, as well as smaller sites
such as Asunción Mita,
Jutiapa,
El Aguilicho,
Cerro Chucunhueso,
Carrizal Grande,
Los Encuentros and
La Ceiba, among others at Río Tambor
Basin, Jalapa. All the Maya and Mesoamérica
Jade
comes from this region, and its blue Jade
(Olmec
Jade), is unique in the world, also de
Ixtepeque and
Acasaguastlán Obsidian
quarries are located here,
giving this region an utmost importance trough history. Its
current population
is mostly white and tall, different from the other parts of the country.
A series of sites have been documented in 2007, that follow the
mountain range up to the Caribbean coast, believed to be the
Land Commerce Routes, guardians, in
2008 those will be studied more profoundly, (The exact location has
not been disclosed).