Highlands Culture, GUATEMALA
Airing Date: Sep 1st, 2003
The best place to explore this culture is at Lake Atitlan, about three and a half hours' drive from Guatemala City.
Lake Atitlan is one of the world's most beautiful lakes, surrounded by mountains and several cone-shaped volcanoes. As you come up and over the mountains you'll glimpse a towering dark volcano with the shimmering lake at its feet.
This ancient lake has many Indian villages lining its shores. Life and customs have changed little over the centuries. The Mayans of Guatemala are the last indigenous people on earth who continue to wear native, hand-woven clothing. They do so with great pride, but also at great expense. A Mayan woman seldom refers to herself as Mayan, but rather as 'de Corte' or 'of the skirt'. In fact, the Mayan becomes 'Ladino' - in other words, of mixed heritage - if they abandon their traditional dress.
Panachel is a good place to base yourself while exploring the three indigenous villages around Lake Atitlan. Mayans still live here, but they share the town with a bunch of westerners who arrived in the 60s and never left.
To get further away from the well-worn tourist trail, you'll need to cross the lake by boat in order to reach primitive villages like Santiago Atitlan.
This is the largest and most traditional of the lake towns. It houses a population of 28,000 traditional Tz'utuhil Mayan people, many of whom only speak the local dialect. The locals here all have a distinct flare for the arts, from oil and water paintings to carved sculptures, or brightly coloured hand-woven and hand-embroidered garments.
The main square is home to a grand church which is located at the top of a slope. According to Tz'utuhil legend, the church site is considered 'the navel of the world'. While the exterior doesn't look like much, the church holds some amazing artefacts, such as the wooden statues of saints, which have new clothes made for them by the local ladies.
Another day trip from Panachel is the village called Chichicastenango, about an hour's drive away. On Thursdays and Sundays, this sleepy old town hosts a lively market in the centre of town. Buyers and sellers come from all around the highlands to shop here. You'll be able to buy anything from textiles to masks and carvings.
But travellers often don't come here for the bargains - they visit this village to immerse themselves in a culture that's virtually untouched by western societies. For those who are captivated by such colourful characters, head to the Guatemalan highlands in the dry season, from November through to May.
The facts
Travelworld packages to Guatemala with Adventure World start from $3799 dollars each twin share from the east coast. This includes flights with Qantas and TACA, transfers, seven nights' accommodation and breakfasts, as well as day tours to the highlands including Chicicastenangno and Lake Atitlan.
Travelworld
Tel: 13 14 35
Adventure World
Tel: 02 8913 0755
Clark Tours
