Central Highlands of Guatemala
Guatemala · Americas
About Central Highlands of Guatemala
The Central Highlands is the region around Guatemala City, stretching northwards to the Northern Lowlands in Guatemala.
Central Highlands of Guatemala travel guide
Understand
The countryside around Antigua and Guatemala City is a spectacular landscape of volcanoes, forests of pines, meadows, corn fields and coffee plantations with occasional villages. It is well worth a visit. Looming over the capital is the Pacaya volcano which is one of the most active volcanoes throughout Central and South Americas. The lush mountainous region of Alta Verapaz has an annual average temperature of 21 degrees Celsius with a rain fall of 178cm. Alta Verapaz is home to the Pokemchi and Kekchi Mayan people groups. The capital of this area is Coban.
Getting there
If you are arriving by air, you will be coming in from Aurora International Airport. To move on from the airport, you can either take scheduled shuttle buses to Antigua or taxis from outside of the terminal.
Getting around
Guate City buses cost Q1 as of early 2007 and they offer a good way of getting around if you aren't heading through outlying slums.
Do
Since Guatemala's governmental system is centralized in Guatemala City, many national and international non-governmental organizations are based on the capital city as well. There are numerous foreign NGOs in Antigua also since Antigua is a hub of foreign volunteers. See those articles for information on volunteer opportunities.
Eat
Given the opportunity, most Guatemalans would opt for something besides the usual corn and beans with some occasional meat of some sort. Don't expect great cuisine there, but the food can be quite good.
Go next
Guatemalan Highlands Eastern Guatemala Western Guatemala
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.