Destination: Guatemala

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OUR FAVORITE FIESTAS

You don't have to go looking for festivals in Guatemala. You'll run into parades, fireworks, music and dancing in towns and villages all over the country. But some extra-special events are worth planning for:

• Fiesta de El Cristo de Esquipulas, January 15, Esquipulas
• Fiesta de San Pedro, January 19-25, Rabinal
• Semana Santa (Easter Week), March or April, Antigua & Santiago Atitlan
• Feria de San Felipe , end April/early May, El Castillo de San Felipe
• Rabin Ajau Folkloric Festival , late July/early August, Coban
• Fiesta de Rilaj Maam (Maximon), October 28, San Andres Itzapa & Zunil
• Dia de Todos los Santos (All Saints' Day), November 1, Todos Santos Cuchumatan and San Jose
• Feria del Barrilete Gigante (Giant Kite Festival), November 1, Santiago Sacatepequez & Sumpango
• Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil) , December 7, Chichicastenango
• Fiesta de Santo Tomas, December 21, Chichicastenango

BEST MAYAN READS

The Maya, past and present, are the theme of whole libraries of writing. Here are our 10 favorite books on them:

• The Maya, Michael D Coe
• The Blood of Kings: Dynasty & Ritual in Maya Art, Linda Schele and Mary Ellen Miller
• Scandals in the House of Birds: Shamans and Priests on Lake Atitlan, Nathaniel Tarn
• I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala, Rigoberta Menchu
• Maya of Guatemala - Life and Dress, Carmen L Pettersen
• Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens, Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube
• Unfinished Conquest: The Guatemalan Tragedy, Victor Perera
• The Maya Textile Tradition, Margot Blum Schevill (editor)
• Breaking the Maya Code, Michael D Coe
• The Ancient Maya, Robert J Sharer

LAND OF ETERNAL SPRING

This is what they call Guatemala in the tourist blurbs. Of course it isn't, but it is a natural wonderland. Here are our 10 select sites for experiencing the country's animal, vegetable, geological and scenic marvels.

• Tikal
• Semuc Champey
• Lago de Atitlan
• Volcan Acatenango
• Volcan Tajumulco
• Laguna Petexbatun
• The Rio Dulce
• Laguna Lachua
• Ixil Triangle
• The Cuchumatanes mountains north of Huehuetenango

Travelling to Guatemala?
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