40 Best Sights in The Highlands, Guatemala

The Reserva Natural Atitlán has a walking trail that loops through a small river canyon, crossing suspension bridges and passing a butterfly atrium and enclosures of spider monkeys and coatimundis. If you feel like playing Tarzan, the complex contains a zip-line tour (Q150), where you glide through the forest canopy courtesy of a series of cables, a helmet, and a very secure harness. There's also a private beach for a bit of post-educational relaxation. Campsites are available in the park, or if you'd like a bit more luxury, cabins ($$), albeit spartan ones, are also available.

Anyone can buy a huipil as a souvenir of Guatemala. How about coming home with a few flashy moves that will wow your friends on the dance floor? The Salsa Rosa dance studio gives group salsa lessons each weeknight at 6 pm, and the cost is a bargain Q25 per hour. (Instruction is in Spanish.) You can also opt for private lessons daily except Sunday for Q60 per hour—equally a bargain, we think—and delve into the fine art of salsa, merengue, cha-cha, or lambada. If you're new to Latin dancing, we recommend sticking with the relatively simpler merengue, which works well with an amazing variety of pop music back home. Call a couple of days in advance to make an appointment for private lessons and to arrange for an English-speaking instructor if you need one.

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The ancient city of Zaculeu, 4 km (2 miles) from Huehuetenango, was built around AD 600 by the Mam people. The site was chosen for its strategic location, as it has natural barriers on three sides. The defenses worked all too well against the Spanish. Realizing they could not take the Zaculeu people by force, the Spaniards chose instead to starve them out. Within two months they surrendered. Today the ruins consist of a few pyramids, a ball court, and a two-room museum that gives a few insights into the world of the Mam. The site's restoration is said to be the worst in all of Guatemala, as the original archaeologists simply covered the pyramids with concrete, which was not a common building material in pre-Colombian Central America. Admission is Q25.