Day Trip to Chichicastenango

Greetings! In January, I visited Guatemala in Central America. My itinerary took me to Antigua, Chichicastenango market, Lake Atitlan, Santiago village, and Guatemala City.

I had a wonderful stay in Antigua, one of Guatemala's former capitals and a UNESCO World Heritage site. You might like to see my post on Antigua here. From Antigua, I booked a shuttle van service to visit the most fascinating and colourful open-air market in the country, located in Chichicastenango. 

The driving distance from Antigua to Chichicastenango is 93 km (58 miles). The drive took about two hours along winding mountain roads, with lush green scenery showing coffee plantations and farmland. The coffee harvest time runs from November to January. I saw fields of melons, carrots, and fruit stands selling a wide variety of fruit along the way.

The market in Chichicastenango is on Thursdays and Sundays, with hundreds of vendors from the surrounding countryside gather here to sell handicrafts, textiles, candles, food, livestock, flowers, and pottery. Visitors come here for the vibrant colours and unique items.

HANDICRAFTS:

Popular items include hand-made baskets and Guatemala's worry dolls. The story of the worry doll is a local Mayan legend. The origin of the Muñeca quitapena refers to a Mayan princess named Ixmucane. The princess received a special gift from the sun god that allowed her to solve any problem a human could worry about. The worry doll represents the princess and her wisdom.

According to legend, Guatemalan children tell their worries to the Worry Dolls, placing them under their pillow when they go to bed at night. By morning the dolls have gifted them with the wisdom and knowledge to eliminate their worries.

Hand-woven baskets, Chichicastenango

Hand-made worry dolls and soft toys

TEXTILES:

Colourful table runners, napkins, clothing, and hammocks are common at the market. Each of the embroidered designs for women's tops identifies the village origin.

Mayan textiles

Table runners

Napkins

Hammocks

FOOD: 

Thanks to the rich volcano soil, Guatemala produces a wide variety of vegetables and fruit for their own consumption and for exports to other countries such as Canada. The carrots and avocados are huge and inexpensive. You can get six or seven big avocados for US$1 at the market.

Fruit vendor and buyers

Vegetable and fruit section at the market

Making corn tortillas

POTTERY:

Nativity scenes made of clay as well as clay pots and plates are popular.

Clay pottery, Guatemala

Clay pottery, Guatemala

WOODEN MASKS & FIGURES:

Wooden masks of human and animal faces are sold everywhere. Jaguar is an important animal element in Guatemala's culture. In Mayan mythology, the jaguar was seen as the ruler of the Underworld, and as such, a symbol of the night sun and darkness.

Wooden jaguars

Wood animal masks

Wood face masks

Due to the size of the market, it can be overwhelming at first. Take time to browse and be prepared to haggle. If you find it overwhelming, take a break at one of the coffee shops that has upper floors or walk up the steps of Church of St. Thomas to get a good view of the market and to observe the interactions. By early afternoon, the market quiets down quite a bit, making it easier to shop and get a bargain as vendors want to carry less stuff home.

Open air market in Chichicastenango

Open air market in Chichicastenango

CHURCH OF ST. THOMAS:

After browsing at the market, I headed to the Church of Saint Thomas (Iglesia de Santo Tomas). This historic church built in 1540 often plays host to Mayan rituals. Right on the steps of the church, captivating religious ceremonies take place with flowers and burning incense.

Church of St Thomas, Chichicastenango

CEMETERY:

From the steps of the Church of Saint Thomas, to the left, walk downhill to the town cemetery. It's the most colourful cemetery that I've seen in my travels.

Cemetery in Chichicastenango

OVERNIGHT IN PANAJACHEL:

Leaving Chichicastenango, I continued my shuttle van service to Panajachel, a small hamlet on the shores of beautiful Lake Atitlan. This cozy town is known as a central hub for travelers as they make their way to the picturesque villages that dot the lake shore. If you click to enlarge the photo below, you can see a few boats crossing Lake Atitlan, and the white pier.

View of Panajachel

My hotel room in Panajachel has a wonderful view of Lake Atitlan and the three surrounding volcanoes (San Pedro, Atitlan and Toliman volcanoes). The natural beauty of the area is simply breathtaking.

Lake Atitlan at sunset

My adventure in Guatemala has been fabulous so far. I look forward to viewing Lake Atitlan at sunrise and exploring one of the villages the next day.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments.