The drive along highway CA 1 (aka, the Pan American Highway) out of Guatemala City through the mountains toward Quetzaltenango (aka Xela) takes you through the town of Hupalupa. At 10,334 feet (3,150 meters), this spot is marked as the highest point on the .
About 3,000 feet lower lies which, thankfully, everyone calls Xela (pronounced Shell ah). Xela has become a base for two pursuits: learning Spanish and scrambling up volcanoes including the still-active Santiaguito. This means there are plenty of travelers in town along with the usual lashings of volunteers and NGO workers.
Xela is the second largest city in Guatemala but it’s a mere shadow of sprawling . Still, with so many travelers, students and volunteers there’s a lot to do and see. The best directory of it all is a free, monthly, English language publication called . It’s full of details, news and gossip all written in a fun, smart ass style.
We checked into the motel-y Los Olivos hotel (200Q, or US$25, with parking and breakfast) but we would have preferred to stay at the similarly priced Hotel Kiktem-Ja which has a rambling sort of Colonial charm and fireplaces–something that’s very important in Xela where temperatures dip way down and most rooms don’t have heat. Sadly, our truck wouldn’t fit in their courtyard.
At one point we got so cold in Xela that we bought a heating pad which we used to sort of stay warm in the room and to heat up our bed at night.
Less than half an hour from Xela is a tiny town with big WOW of a church. San Andrés Xecul is home to by far the brightest, most exuberantly decorated, most unexpected church we’ve seen to date–and we’ve seen dozens and dozens of churches.
Often simply referred to as “the yellow church,” the incredibly bright facade is decorated with a mix of Catholic and Mayan iconography including crops, jaguars, angels, flowers, tigers, crude humans. If you stand back and squint the front of the church looks a bit like the richly decorated huipils worn by most indigenous women right down to the boxy shape and colorful details.
Iglesia de San Jacinto church in the nearby town of Salcajá may be boring old white, but it’s remarkable for another reason. Founded by the Spanish in 1524, Iglesia de San Jacinto is the oldest Christian church in Central America. The church doors were locked when we visited the church so we had to be content with admiring the facade which is decorated with carved animals and fruit that literally pale in comparison to the cacophony of color on the yellow church.
Mayan and Christian worlds collide again at , a sacred lake located in a volcanic crater about 40 minutes outside Xela.
At the trail head there’s a small ranger station (15Q, about US$1.90, entry per person, 10Q, about US$1.25, to park) and a collection of basic dorm cabins for rent. From there a very steep and narrow dirt road heads up to the rim of the caldera. After about 30 minutes of walking we reached the Mirador with a few rickety picnic tables and views of Santa Maria volcano.
Tips: For best views get here early since the clouds move in by noon. And do not follow the signs that say “Laguna.” Instead, head for the Mirador and take the steep wooden staircase down to Laguna Chicabal from there.
A trail encircles the clear, inviting lake but no matter how hot you are do not jump in for a cooling swim. Laguna Chicabal is considered sacred by the Mam Mayans who come here to make offerings at lakeside shrines. Basic camping is allowed in one designated lakeside area, but there are no facilities at all.