Travel Guatemala

We are a full service Tour Operator specializing in the design, promotion, operation of guided tours and independent travel services to Guatemala and Central America.

Flight Arrivals & Departures GUA

Live flight information from Guatemalan International Airports.

Check your trip

Check your flight itinerary anywhere and anytime here .

Turansa Toolbar

Includes: Guatemala radio stations, newspapers, weather, live flight information & more!

Stay Informed

Have the newest information regarding our international tours, travel itineraries, special hotel prices. Syndicate!

RSS feed

Visit Baja Verapaz

Baja Verapaz

Baja Verapaz is located in the center region of the country, with an altitude of 2617 meters a.s.l. Its are comprises 3,124 square kilometers (2.9% of the overall country’s area). Baja Verapaz was instituted as a department on May 4th, 1877, when the Verapaces region was divided. 57% of the population is indigenous, with various subethnic groups, such as the Achí, Pocomchí, Quiché and Cackchiquel.

The region’s original name was Tucurtán, sometimes written as Tuzulutlán or Tezulutlán.

The economy of Baja Verapaz is based on sugar cane plantations, vegetables, grains and cereals, as well as small industry of manufacture and commerce.

It is believed that Baja Verapaz was inhabited by several; Ethnic groups, including the Cakchiqueles, Quichés, Pocomchís, Achís and possibly the Alagüilacs, who lived in San Agustín Acasaguatlán.

Places to visit in Baja Verapaz:

Salamá
This is the department’s capital city. It is 776 square kilometers and is located in the Urrán valley, with an altitude of 960 meters. It has a warm climate. It is located 147 km from Guatemala City. Access is by a national system of paved roads. In Quiché tongue, Salamá means “River of wood planks” or “Wood planks on the Water”. The exact date of its foundation is not known. It is known, though, that Friar Pedro de Angulo died on Good Wednesday in 1562 in Salamá, who in turn the first Bishop was appointed for the territory.

Parochial Church
Located at the central plaza, it is a sample of the Spanish colonial architecture of the XVI Century. It boasts a Baroque façade, and its main navel and masonry dome have several Rococo carvings, gold laminates and paintings that depict scenes of the period. Its pulpit is also carved, and is the only one of that kind, aside from one found in Peru.

El Calvario
The church of El Calvario, has a very special location. After climbing a 120-step hill, you reach the atrium, which serves as a natural mirador from which the whole city can be seen.

There is a Temple of Minerva in Salamá, with its republican architecture of the XIX century, and is an imitation of the classic Greek temples. It was built during president Estrada Cabrera’s period, stayed in power during three consecutive periods on an autocratic ticket. It celebrates the Minervalías of cultural feasts, honoring the Greek goddess of wisdom.

Its main economic activities are agriculture and livestock breeding.

Rabinal
It is located on the western part of the region, and is also on the Urrán valley. It has an area of 504 square kilometers, with an altitude of 982 meters a.s.l. It was formerly named Ropenal. In 1538, Friar Bartolomé de las Casas and Friar Pedro de Angulo founded the town of Rabinal on a nearby location.
There are several archeological sites in Rabinal, where El Cajiú is the most outstanding and where religious festivities are still celebrated.

San Pablo Rabinal is one of the three Maya-Achí municipal districts in Baja Verapaz. This village is considered as one of the most important traditional popular cultural centers of Guatemala.

Several religious, social cultural and sporting events take place from January 17th to the 25th, in honor of San Pablo Apóstol. Also, people perform the folkloric dances of Venados, Negritos, Diablos, El Chico Mudo, La Conquista, Animales, el Costeño, Huastecos, Santa Catarina, Moros, Marineros, el Tun, Convite or Enmascarados and Rabinal Achí.

Santa Cruz el Chol
It is located 52 kilometers from Salamá. It has an area of 142 square kilometers and has an altitude of 1008 meters a.s.l.

This village was founded on the XVII Century, and among its most interesting features are the 50-by-15-meter vault, which in pre-Hispanic timest was used as a burial place for priests and children. Its catholic temple boasts very old effigies of saints, as well as carved wooden altars, using the “chirriguresque” style of the XVIII Century.

San Jeronimo
It has a historic legacy from the XVI Century. It is located on a wide valley with a comfortable climate and vegetation common to the tropical region. It has an altitude of 990 meters. It is surrounded by the Santa Cruz, La Laguna, and Pachalum mountains. It is located 154 km from Guatemala City, and access is through paved road.

Market days are on Thursdays and Sundays. Its main industries are alcoholic beverages and brown sugar loaf manufacturing, as well as sugar cane plantations.

The local church is a jewel itself, with its Baroque altars, rich with saint statuettes and oil paintings. It has a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe, one of Mexican painter Cristóbal de Villalpando’s best works.

San Miguel Chicaj
It is a very old village; located 9 km from Salamá, it has an altitude of 940 meters. Most of the population works in agriculture, ceramics, and textile manufacturing and hemp objects.

It main fair is celebrated from September 25th to the 29th, honoring San Miguel Arcángel. Several social, cultural, religion and sporting events take place, as well as various dances such as the dance of the Moors and El Costeño.

Cubulco
It has an area of 444 sq. kilometers and an altitude of 900 meters. 68% of its population is of indigenous origin, of the Quiché and Achí ethnic groups. It sits on Cubulco valley, next to the Sierra de Chuacús, and borders Baja Verapaz and Quiché. This small Achí village has colonial architectural traits. One can see a very common element of religious architecture from the years following the Conquista, such as the fortress-like way churches and convents were built at the time. Women wear one of the most beautiful dresses of the whole region. Especially the ceremonial huipil, made of natural cotton, which is spun locally, and has three side stripes brocaded with geometrical figures where red, is the predominant color as it contrasts beautifully with the natural cotton background.

They celebrate their fair on July 25th, in honor of their patron saint Santiago, and takes place in the plaza, where they stage the famous “Palo Volador” ceremony, a pre-Hispanic ritual dance.

Purulhá
It has an area of 248 sq. km and an altitude of 1737 meters.

Its main fair is celebrated from June 10th to the 13th in honor of San Antonio de Padua, with religious, cultural, social and sporting events.

Biotopo del Quetzal “Mario Dary Rivera”
(Quetzal Bird Reserve)
Located in Purulhá, this conservation unit has an area of 1175 hectares of cloudy jungle, and its mountains reach an altitude of 2300 meters. It is the best example of a managed system out of all natural communities of sub-tropical mountain climates in the country. The Biotopo has more than 50 different tree species that reach up to 120 feet high, including some specimens that are more than 450 years old. Its mountains function as a natural barrier against the storm currents that drain onto the gulf and Caribbean basins.

The most notable species of vegetation include the pines, oak trees, cypress, eucalyptus, rubber, chipe or “shut” bark trees (giant ferns), lichens, mosses, orchids, bromeliads, algae and other arboreal plants and ferns. On the animal kingdom, the most common species are the squirrels, wild rabbits, foxes, monkeys, apes, poisonous and non-poisonous snakes (both arboreal and terrestrial) salamanders, etc. A very special place is reserved for the Quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, where it is one of the only places it can be seen, especially early in the morning.
There are two main trails within the reserve complex:
Short trail (Los Helechos): 2000 meters of walking distance, approximately, this can be done in 45 minutes.

Long trail (Los Musgos): 4000 meters of walking distance, approximately, which can be done in 3 hours.

Activities that visitors can do include observation strolls through the trails. Also, there is a cold-water natural pool where you can swim. Both trails are highly educational and one can also learn everything related to the water cycle.

This reserve has the following facilities: multiple-purpose hall, camping area, small parking area, shop, rest rooms, cafeteria, huts with tables and grills, and a shelter for 20 people.

The Biotopo is located 165 km from Guatemala City, taking CA-14, which leads to Cobán. The facilities are open to the public from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Sierra de las minas Biosphere Reserve
It is the best-kept biological corridor and the richest in bio-diversity, due to the fact that it is a transitional area. It is formed by a chain of mountains with altitudes that range from 150 to 3000 meters a.s.l., of rugged and steep hills covered by a huge blanket of vegetation. It has many natural streams and water beds. There is a large amount of stratified types of forest here: cloudy, conifer, rainy, spiny, old, all full of life. 70% of all vertebrate species documented in Guatemala live in Sierra de las Minas, making it a very important place due to the large diversity of ecosystems and species that live there.

There are recent studies that support the fact that there are several species that haven’t been discovered or documented. These mountains are so steep that, in some parts, there have never been any human beings who have walked on them. Its huge variety and inaccessibility are the main reasons for its richness. There is a great part of the Sierra that is still not known, because a large part of its territory has not even been visited by scientists. There are several varieties of trees here, especially cedar trees, oak trees, liquidamber and a huge variety of pines (conifers). These forests are also a natural shelter for large mammals, including jaguars, pumas, deer and birds like the quetzal, the pajuil and the harpy eagle.

For the visitor who wants to reach the Sierra by himself, there are two places with good accessibility: Chilasco and Los Albores.

Guatemala Departments:

Picture Gallery

A collection of pictures taken around Guatemala. Click here