The Highlands Travel Guide
- Overview
- Places to Explore
- Sights
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Entertainment
- Shopping
- Travel Tips
- Features
- Fodor's Choice
- Deals
- Spanish Phrases
- Guidebooks
Guidebooks
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Fodor's Belize
Trade Paperback
The region that locals call the Occidente (west) or the Altiplano (high plain) is the Guatemala that everyone comes to see. The highlands begin near the colonial capital of Antigua and run all the way to the border of Mexico, in a spectacular stretch of territory where grumbling volcanoes rise above broad alpine lakes, narrow river ravines, subtropical valleys, misty cloud forests, and pastoral plains.
The Highlands Hotels
International hotel chains are nowhere to be found in this region, and aside from a couple of resort-type accommodations on Lake Atitlán, the highlands...read more
The Highlands Restaurants
You'll find a few international restaurants in Quetzaltenango (by virtue of its being a large city) and in Panajachel (due to its concentration of tourists)...read more
Things To Do in The Highlands
Explore the best sights, entertainment, and shopping with our top choices and insider tips.
Travel Deals in The Highlands
- $149-$169 -- Guatemala: Upscale Hotel w/Breakfast, 35% off Starwood Hotels and Resorts
- Guatemala Experience IExplore
- Colonial Cities & Mayan Civilizations IExplore
- Guatemala, Honduras & Belize — $4,995 IExplore
- Colonial Cities & Mayan Civilizations — $4,695 IExplore
The Highlands Experiences
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Blending the old and the new: The highlands mix the best of Mayan and European cultures. Although Christianity has been practiced here for 500... Read more
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It is said that the Mayan goddess Ixchel gave the art of weaving to her people. Today's Maya descendents still make fervent use of that gift... Read more
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In 1992 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Guatemalan writer Rigoberta Menchú, raised in the tiny highland village of San Miguel Uspantán... Read more
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In this American Idol-ized world, a visit to Santiago Atitlán puts renown and heroism into true perspective.... Read more
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Arguably Guatemala's most curious object of veneration is the cigar-smoking, rum-swilling deity Maximón. He is still actively idolized... Read more
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Believe it or not, highland markets mean more than Thursday and Sunday in Chichicastenango. Most towns hold a market one or two days a week... Read more
News & Features
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Trip Ideas
After reading these five reasons to actually stop in Guatemala (think roasting marshmallows on a volcano, ... Read more
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Trip Ideas
Reading trip reports from other travelers can be an invaluable resource for planning your next vacation.... Read more
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Travel Tips
The best way to experience the incomparable Maya ruins is to get up just before the birds do, from a hotel... Read more
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· Forums Trip Reports
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My fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon. Read more
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Hi, all -
A summer Guatemala visit was out for me this year due to happy, busy plans to reconnect with host families in Scotland (mine) and The Netherlands (son Isaac's) and a focus week in Cambridge fo Read more
·Guatemala Forum
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I am in desperate need of a SOLO vacation and Antigua Guatemala came to mind. Read more
