guatemala - Guatemala - TravBuddy

for the genuine culturalists traveling to guatemala, it is highly recommended that you make every effort to, at the very least, treat with scepticism the following places--panahachel, san pedro la laguna,xela, antigua, livingston, flores and likened places. the scene is very western and have the tendency to seduce unsuspecting visitors into extending their stay by weeks with bounties of very inexpensive drugs of all varieties. For me, i found it saddening to be solicited coke on street corners when visiting a pueblos that i thought would offer me a glimpse of authentic local culture. my advice to you is buy the weed, catch an american movie, eat a steak and get the hell out! visit these places instead...the northern, northern highlands near barillas and san mateo, maybe include a trip to the visually stunning todos santos cuchamatan. the ixil triangle is also very traditional. in fact, i recommended you find your way, as we did ours, from nebaj to todos sandos...in the peten, carmelita offers a starting point for infinitely more rewarding forays into the jungle than tikal. do some research and you will discover for yourself. playa grande is quite interesting, as are the towns below the astonishingly beautiful samuc champey near lago isabella. of course, there are many more secrets to reveal about guatemala but it was quite rewarding discovering them on our own.