Vacation to Guatemala
Traveling in Quetzaltenango Guatemala
Quetzaltenango is Guatemala's second city. It has a great atmosphere – less than big, not very small, enough foreigners to guide a good selection of hotels and restaurants, although not so many which it loses its national flavor. The Guatemalan 'layering' effect reaches work in the town center – when the Spanish moved out, the Germans moved in and architecture provides the zone a somber, even Gothic, feel.
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The city's name is actually a mouthful, but locals kindly shorten ito Xela (shell-ah), an abbreviation in the original K'iche' Maya name, Xelajú.
Xela is loved by travelers after some time to settle in a place and work towards their Spanish. It also functions like a base to get a range of spectacular hikes from the surrounding countryside – the ascent for the summit of Volcán Tajumulco (Central America's highest point) along with the three-day trek to Lago de Atitlán, among others.
Xela is loved by travelers after some time to settle in a place and work towards their Spanish. It also functions like a base to get a range of spectacular hikes from the surrounding countryside – the ascent for the summit of Volcán Tajumulco (Central America's highest point) along with the three-day trek to Lago de Atitlán, among others.
- Centro Intercultural de Quetzaltenango
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Cultural Center in Quetzaltenango. Quetzaltenango's railroad station, 1km east in the Templo de Minerva along 4a Calle, lay dormant for quite a while until town converted it into this center, which now houses schools of art and dance, plus three interesting museums.
- The Museo Ixkik'
- Parque Centro América
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Plaza in Quetzaltenango. Most of Xela's sights crowd near the broad central plaza. It's a great place to get a stroll or even sit the ones watch. It was originally two separate parks, developed by Italian architect Alberto Porta inside 1800s; we were looking at combined in the 1930s update into its current oblong shape. The most notable from the monuments scattered along its expanse is often a rotunda of Ionic columns dedicated to your composer Rafael Álvarez Ovalle.
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In the center with the plaza there´s a pillar devoted to Justo Rufino Barrios, the 19th-century president whose 'reforms' transferred land ownership from Maya peasants to coffee-plantation owners.
- Cemetery
- Cerro el Baúl
Viewpoint in Quetzaltenango. This wooded hill can be a popular weekend destination for city dwellers, due to its wonderful views across Xela's broad plain and for the volcanos that fringe it. There's a small cafe, some surprisingly fast and scary kids' slides plus a giant obelisk with great Mayan warrior Tecún Umán carved in relief – legend claims they are buried for this spot.
Vacation to Guatemala You May Also Like:
- Museo de Arte
- Museo Ixkik'
- Templo de Minerva
- Iglesia El Calvario
Vacation to Guatemala You May Also Like:
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