Guatemala is world famous for its interesting history, distinctive culture and wonderful scenic sites.
Apart from this, splendid mountains, dazzling lakes, natural hot springs and gorgeous waterfalls make this country even more appealing.
Guatemala is home to Maya Civilization which is considered as one of the most intelligent civilizations that had lived in the world.
Numerous tourists visit this country to peep into its interesting history and to enjoy its beauty.
I have travelled to many countries but Guatemala is really a unique and amazing country.
This glorious country makes you feel like being in another world.
I had my most memorable holidays in this country.
Antigua was my starting point.
This city is famous for its well- preserved prehistoric architectures and spectacular remains of colonial churches.
Due to its great historical significance;
this city has been designated as a World Heritage Site.
We wanted to see all the ancient ruins that have been preserved by this city.
We started with the church of San Francisco the best known thing in Guatemala.
It is one of the most ruined churches of this city.
We visited this multi-domed church to see the ancient ruins.
It’s a huge church. The Hall of Miracles in this church is really a magic. I loved watching it. We also watched the church museum.
It was very interesting. The ruin filled gardens look very beautiful. This place really deserves a visit. There is lot to see at this place.
ChocoMuseo was the next place that I visited after the Church of San Francisco. It’s a specialty museum where you could taste variety of yummy Chocolates.
I am a great fan of chocolates and visited this amazing place to fulfill my zeal of tasting different types of chocolates.
This place is really very unique and amazing.
Apart from tasting the mouth-watering chocolates, you also get a chance to learn about how chocolate is made from starting to end.
I attended the workshop where they taught the history of cocoa.
I made a drink by using cocoa beans and chocolate and it was very delicious.
I also tasted some chocolate bars.
The chili chocolate and the dark chocolate were awesome.
It was very interesting to know the history and making of chocolates.
It’s a paradise for chocolate lovers.
The glory of Antigua is not just limited to ancient ruins and spectacular architectures but it has some adventures to make your trip memorable.
Guatemala is very famous for volcanoes and Antigua has got one amazing volcano in its circuit. This volcano is known as Pacaya Volcano.
It’s an active volcano.
I had never seen an active volcano and I was very eager to watch it.
I did the tour to Pacaya Volcano without any tour operator.
I used the private transport for reaching this place and found a guide on the trailhead.
The hike is not too long but it is steep at the beginning.
I was so excited that I didn’t even notice when this hike ended!
It was awesome to walk on cooled lava. It was like walking on the surface of some other planet. Although, I got bit tired but I really enjoyed the hiking. It took me around 90 minutes to reach the top.
The views from the top were breathtaking. I was blown away by the views of lava. My guide was very informative and he told me many stories related to this volcano. It was fun listening to him. If you ever visit Antigua; do experience this amazing volcano trekking.
If you are not interested in hiking but still want to see the magnificent views from the top then you can hire a horse to get to the top. Many horses are available to hire. But if you chose to hike then make sure to hire a guide to avoid going on a wrong trek. It was an incredible experience for me.
I spent two days in Antigua and had wonderful time in this amazing city. After Antigua, I visited Guatemala City.
This city has everything ranging from wonderful wildlife to Maya Ruins. I started from Mundo Petapa Irtra.
It’s the only theme park of Guatemala and there is a brilliant zoo inside this theme park.
This place was far ahead of my expectations.
The park is very clean, beautiful and very well managed.
You could enjoy some unique and thrilling rides in this park.
This park has been divided into several sections which include the Joy Square, Rainbow Square, Valley of the Dinos and the jungle zoo.
There is also a small waterfall and a pool in this park.
You could enjoy the exciting rides in the joy square and if you want to watch animals;
then visit the jungle zoo area.
I enjoyed an amazing ride and then visited the zoo area of the park.
It was fun to watch animals.
I spent two hours in this park and enjoyed very much.
It’s a good place to relax and have fun.
After having fun in a wonderful theme park, it was time to get into the history of Maya Civilization.
This was something that I wanted to do right from my first day in Guatemala.
There are many museums in the Guatemala City which exhibit Maya ruins.
You could choose as per your wish.
I went to National Museum of Archeology and Ethnology.
This great museum has some wonderful household objects and brilliant sculptures which were excavated from the Maya Sites.
These sculptures and objects show the intelligence and brilliancy of the people of Maya Civilization.
It was amazingly interesting to watch the remains of Maya.
It was actually a handclasp with Maya Civilization.
I really enjoyed watching the leftovers of Maya.
The most interesting and exciting part of my Guatemala travel was my visit to Tikal National Park.
This national park is the largest archeological site of Maya Civilization.
Tikal National Park is really a different world.
It takes you back to the royal history of the Maya empire.
There are some mind-blowing temples in this park.
I started from Temple IV.
Its height is 70 meters from the floor and it is the tallest temple at Tikal.
It looks like a huge Pyramid.
Temple IV is the largest architecture of the 8th century.
Coming across this grand architecture was a wonderful moment of my life.
I was amazed to watch this amazing creativity of Maya.
To go to the top of this pyramid-shaped temple;
you need to climb 212 steps.
I was very eager to watch the views from the top and I climbed those 212 steps with great passion.
The views from the top were magnificent.
I could watch the jungle and another four temples.
I was overwhelmed by the fantastic views.
I was very impatient to see all the wonderful creativities of Maya Civilization.
After Temple IV, I headed to see the other temples of Tikal.
I was lost in the marvel of Maya ruins.
All the temples were exceptionally impressive.
I took my time to fill my eyes with the unbelievable artistry of these magnificent architectures.
After watching all the temples, I moved to the Great Plaza.
This part of Tikal gives a sense of the advanced and imposing culture of Maya Civilization.
By watching this part of Tikal;
you would definitely appreciate the intelligence and creativity of Maya Civilization.
They have really created the stunning success.
At the end, I entered the part which is known as the lost world.
It is an amazing part of Tikal.
Lost World is the oldest part of Maya ruins.
It has a great pyramid which is truly tremendous.
I watched the sunset from this place and I saw the miraculous views of sunset.
Watching sunset from this place was a magical moment of my life.
You must visit this fantastic place to get a lifetime experience.
It is the place from where you could enjoy the most spectacular sunrise and sunset of your life.
With this, my Guatemala travel came to an end.
I know that there is much more to explore in Guatemala.
I would visit there soon to discover the unseen treasures of this amazing country.
