Through
the Indigenous Villages and across the Scenic Cuchumatanes.
Day 1
We meet the night before at 6pm to hand out group gear, any personal gear that you may need and go over all of the trip details and logistics. After a hearty breakfast, we leave around 9am on Wednesday to head up to the quiet little town of Nebaj in the northwestern part of the country. We spend the evening taking in the sights and relaxing over dinner before spending the night at a hotel making sure to get plenty of rest for the journey head.
Day 2
We have a relaxing start rising around 7am and having breakfast in town before starting out for 4 days of trekking to the beautiful and historic town of Todos Santos. We begin trekking out of town to the sacred sites on the outskirts and then tackling a 1 1/2 hour climb onto the ridge out of town. We pass through several small villages, getting our first taste of the rural highland culture. We have lunch accompanied by fresh locally made dairy and goat cheese at a local cheesefarm. After lunch we will continue on to stay and have dinner with a local family in a small village about 6 hours outside of Nebaj.
Day 3
We rise early at 3:30 am, tackle the hardest part of the trek, with a break on our way up for coffee and breakfast, a 2.5 to 3 hours climb up to the top of an immense plateau. We reach the summit to cross into an open area strewn with huge boulders and grassy patches just calling for us to take a nap. After some snacking, relaxation and a doze in the sunshine, we continue along the top of the plateau passing through several small settlements where the local people make their living by growing crops, herding sheep and making hand woven textiles. Later in the afternoon, we drop down into a beautiful deep valley and arrive in a small, rural school of Canton Primero to have dinner and stay.
Day 4
Early morning call is at around 7am and we go down the valley to have breakfast and a swim in the river. Afterwards, we head up out of the valley passing through some larger towns and arrive in the early afternoon at the road that runs between Huehuetenango and Todos Santos. After lunch on a beautiful hill with views of the plateau, we jump on a bus for the 1/2 hour ride to a small indigenous town on the east side of La Torre, the highest non-volcanic point in all of Central America. We spend the night with Geronimo and his family, with whom we have dinner and breakfast in the small fire-warmed kitchen of their traditional home.
Day 5
Geronimo comes with us to guide us to the top of La Torre and shares some of his experiences living in the highlands during the civil war that raged through the area for decades. We summit for a fine view to Volcan Tacana in Mexico, Volcan Tajumulco and the volcanoes around Antigua. From the summit, we descend down through the beautiful Cuchumantanes Mountains, passing by an alpine lake and working our way down the steep hillside. At the road, Geronimo heads back home and we continue down the side of the valley, arriving to Todos Santos and booking into a small family-run hotel. Here we have a nice hot shower and then go we out for a group dinner to celebrate our accomplishment and discuss the highlights of the trip.
Day 6
Next and last morning, we get up around 5:30 am, hop on a bus that drives us to Huehuetenango, where we enjoy a good breakfast. Those willing to travel on can have their bags delivered in Huehuetenango by one of the Quetzaltrekker volunteers. After breakfast we get our last bus to Xela arriving to town around 1pm.
Cost of Hike Q1100.00 [ $US157 ]
This hike leaves every other Wednesday morning, depending on demand.
Cost includes:
- All Transport
- Food
- Accomodations
- Water
- Guides
- Equipment, ie. Sleeping Bags, Roll Mats, Waterproofs, etc.
Cost does not include:
- Personal travel insurance
- Alcoholic beverages
- Costs incurred due to accident, illness or any other unforeseen circumstances
- Tips for the Guides
What You Should Bring:
- Warm Clothes
- Rain Gear
- Sun Screen
- Headlamp
- Hat
- Backpack
Any of the above items that you do not have we will do our best to provide.
* With all trips, please sign up by the Monday afternoon before your desired trip, at the latest. Space is always limited to first comers.
**Quetzaltrekkers purchases the food provided on trips from local Guatemalan vendors and co-ops when possible.
