Luxury Vacations in Guatemala

Guatemala’s star is rising. For many years, its jungle-swathed Maya ruins on the Mexican border and the cultural riches of the highlands were the preserve of only the intrepid. But now, decades on from the cessation of civil war in 1996, word is getting out about the warm welcome and untouched scenery awaiting travellers.

Today, Tikal – a breathtaking super-city with soaring temple-pyramids, which came to dominate the Maya world between the 3rd and 9th centuries – remains the headline attraction. But lesser-known ruins throughout the northerly Petén lowlands are gaining attention too: Uaxactun, Yaxhá, El Mirador. The beauty of these places seeps into the rest of Guatemala – in the flowering city of Antigua, a cornucopia of churches, palaces and Baroque majesty in the central highlands; and in the glittering Lake Atitlán, the deepest lake in Central America, its cool waters captured by a volcanic crater. There is a present to go with the vaunted past. Maya culture is far from confined to the vestiges of its once-great empire; a significant population of modern Maya preserve the cuisine and cosmologies of their ancestors, best understood in home cooking classes or colorful festivals. The capital, Guatemala City, is a swirl of color, awash with music, food and art. And there are two coastlines, one on the Caribbean, one on the Pacific, each cradling unsung beaches awash with sleepy fishing communities.