CIRCUIT "ESSENTIAL"
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This circuit will let you to discover all the charm of Guatemala visiting the essential and the most incredible places.
Day 1: Guatemala City airport- Antigua Arrival to Guatemala. Welcome by our team work, they will take you to Antigua. About 1 hour 15 minutes trip. Day 2: Antigua Visit to the colonial city of Antigua located on a flowery valley in the middle of three active volcanoes: Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. Since 1979 Antigua was declared World Heritage by UNESCO. Antigua is unique with its flowery backyards, its colonial houses and its landscapes frozen through the years due to the many earthquakes. Day 3: Antigua-Atitlan Lake In the morning you will visit original indigenous towns near Antigua. You will find the local people with their original weaved dresses and will discover their habits and traditions. Next you will be taken to the highlands to get Atitlan lake and stay there for the first night. Day 4: Atitlan lake You will discover the Atitlan lake, surrounded by three majestic volcanoes, by lancha (small powered boat). The purpose of this trip: to discover the indigenous people that live in these small towns by the banks of the lake. Surprised warranted!. To Chichicastenango in the afternoon. Day 5: Discovering the Altiplano (highlands) You will arrive on the eve of the market day to Chichicastenago. You will discover the most famous market of the country in this town placed in the Guatemalan highlands (2030 m). Early in the morning you will walk through the people that prepare their merchandises. You will have the opportunity to enjoy this ambience before the arrival of the tourist buses. The “Quiche” ethnia also makes this place charming, wearing traditional dresses and blending their pre-christian and catholic believes. Visiting the Santo Tomas church is the opportunity to know this kind of ritual. Return to Guatemala City in the afternoon. Day 6: Discovering the Altiplano (highlands) On the road to Sololá , you may visit the traditional market, one of the most typical ones of the highlands. This is not a tourist market but it is important for the local people. Watching the coloring dresses of people from the near towns that sell their products is a pleasure!! Next you will take the road to Antigua. On the road, you will have the opportunity to visit the maya ruins cakchiqueles in Iximche. There you can learn about the tragic final of this ethnia during the Spanish conquest. Day 7: Antigua-Copán Purpose of the day: to get Copan in Honduras. Before arriving there you will see some desolated landscapes where the Chortis live. This is a remote ethnia whose indigenous are taller than the average and with white skin and light eyes. Arrival to Copan town. Day 8: Copan Visit to maya archaelogical site of Copan. This is an incredible place due to its beauty and landmarks. The maya monoliths are still well preserved. You will be astonished with the famous ladder carved with thousands of hyeroglyphics. Copan is the only site where you may walk in the tunnels under the landmarks and discover the different stratums. Day 9: Copan- Quirigua- Caribbean coast- Livingston The return trip to Guatemala city will be along the Caribbean coast road where you will visit Quirigua, a place lost in the middle of the banana plantations. There you will see the tallest monoliths of the Maya world. Then to the Caribbean coast by lancha (small boat powered) . Livingston and its garifuna people, with black slaves as ancestors, will welcome you in a very Caribbean ambience. Don´t forget to taste the delicious lobsters of the place, the best ones in Guatemala!! Day 10: Livingston- Caribbean Coast During all the day you will go by lancha to a small fishing town placed in the middle of a natural reserve. Fishermen will share with you their work and will take you to the mangroves forests in a small traditional boat. You will see a huge amount of birds!! Night at Livingston. Day 11: Caribbean Coast- Peten You will go to Rio Dulce by lancha. You will love nature, fauna and flora of the place. Seacrows, ducks, herons, dolphins, and endangered manatees will go with you during this two hours trip. Next, road to Peten and Flores city. Day 12: Flores-Ceibal Maya place You will visit Ceibal after a trip by lancha along Pasion River. You get to the place after a short walk through the jungle in the middle of the tropical forest. The monoliths located in the middle of the jungle show the hostile environment the Mayas lived there. Also by lancha you will go to a comfortable lodge in the forest. A fascinating place where you can only hear the monkeys. Day 13: Aguateca Maya Place- Flores From the lodge you will take a lancha to visit the Aguateca Maya place. You have to walk along a geological fault that protected the place from invaders. Recent excavations have shown many landmarks that permit to rebuild the history of this dominant city of the Pasion River. Return to Flores City in the evening. Day 14: Yaxhá et Topoxté Maya place: Another memorial tour to discover two maya places. First Yaxhá, one of the biggest classic sites of the country. Its pyramids, the jungle and the Yaxha lake make this place absolutely splendid. There you can see really stoned streets. Last excavations give to this place a magic character. You will visit Topoxte after having lunch in a small restaurant by the lake. The place located in an island can only be reached by boat. Day 15: Tikal The top of the Maya places. Tikal is located in the middle of the jungle in a natural park. There you will discover many temples and pyramids while walking along the paths of the forest. Day 16: Flores- Guatemala City-Departure Flight from Flores to Guatemala City and connections to Europe. Remarks: open dates to departures.
Prices include: *Hotel in double room *Private local transport with driver. In economic category some routes are in groups. *domestic flight Guatemala- Flores · Rent of private lanchas (in economic category are not private ones)
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Hotel tax and local tax. Prices do not include: *Air tickets for international flights *Tour guide services *Food and beverages *Tickets to landmarks *Tips to drivers, bellboys *Airport tax and boundaries taxHotel descriptions: *economic class: nice hotel, clean and comfortable. Private service. Most of them are near to places to visit. *Standard class: comfortable hotel, beautiful rooms with private services. Very well located to the places to visit and near to restaurants and cafes. *Plus class: very comfortable hotel. Extremely well located with services such as swimming pool, TV, air conditioning, etc. All of them have restaurant service. |