City: Guatemala
Top Things to do in Guatemala
The 10 Best Things to do Good for Adrenaline Seekers in Guatemala, Guatemala
Coordinates: 15°30′N 90°15′W / 15.500°N 90.250°W / 15.500; -90.250
Restaurants in Guatemala
1. Temple IV
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 788 reviews
If you're up for an energetic climb, ascend the wooden stairs to the top of this 212-foot structure, the highest in Tikal, for a magnificent view of the jungle below.
Reviewed By 73valh
We went here with a tour group. We had a guided tour at this place and it was very insightful. We were able to climb a couple of the temples. They have made their own wooden steps to get to ALMOST the top. The views are incredible.
2. Great Plaza
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 493 reviews
Once the ceremonial, religious and social center of Tikal, this plaza is surrounded by huge temples, a palace, sculpted altars and a ball court.
Reviewed By RobertAleksandrowicz - San Jose, United States
The space littered with stelae and altars between Temples I and II on the east-west axis and between the North Acropolis and the place complex on the north-south axis is the Great Plaza, or the new downtown of Tikal because it was built relatively late in its history. What most visitors don't realize is that this plaza is built on a platform that's at least 4 meters high, and from this platform rise the temples and palaces around. The Great Plaza is a must-see for anyone visiting Tikal. Make sure to check the acoustics, but don't just clap. Stand in the middle of the plaza and face directly at the temple I, then the North Acropolis, then Temple 2. Each one will echo your clap.
3. Semuc Champey
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,216 reviews
Reviewed By bucketlisttravellers - Sydney, Australia
Semuc Champey is absolutely stunning and well worth the trek to get there! The pools have a stunning greeny turquoise colour and are very clear. You can see fish clearly and they are the ones that harmlessly nibble away at your feet if you sit still enough. There are a large number of pools and it is worth popping into each as most people stay on the top ones. The lower pools even have natural rock waterslides too if you like a bit of adventure! We did a day tour from Lanquin and this tour also covered a candlelight adventure into nearby caves, a couple of hikes and also a few jumps and swing rope into the river. The pools are visited in the tour after lunch and the one hour round trip hike up to the lookout. There are a lot of steps for this hike and a moderate work out, I wouldn't recommend if you don't have good knees. It is a rough 45min trip to get there from Lanquin standing up in a ute, but this is all part of the adventure. We purchased through La Poza River Lodge for Q195, however we later realised that other hostels are cheaper for the same tour. You could also stay at a hostel near the pools as well, however these are typically not as rated in TA as highly as others in Lanquin.
4. Yaxha
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 379 reviews
Reviewed By 312darshanh - Columbus, United States
On our last free day in Flores, we took a sunset tour to Yaxha National Park with the help of our guide Francisco Florián Escobar. Until our trip we didn’t know Yaxha was the third largest Mayan ruin and was situated in the heart of the rainforest of Guatemala. Francisco was very entertaining and very knowledgeable. He even showed us spider monkeys and grey haired fox. He was also telling us about how Mayan cities were built and how they varied from region to region due to the location of stars. At the end of the trip, we did enjoy a beautiful sunset on top of the Mayan temple.
5. Acatenango Volcano
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,168 reviews
Reviewed By yesenial557
Tropicana tour agency have one of the best view of the fuego volcano,I took an incredible couple package which I could enjoyed with my partner
6. Xetulul
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 208 reviews
Reviewed By E2269DSstepheng - Tucson, United States
Went while on business in Metzatenango, have been wanting to go past few trips and finally got to go. Loved it, went on Thursday in February, park fairly empty, was awesome!. Food was pretty good too. BTW, the best atol de lote.
7. Tajumulco Volcano
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 55 reviews
Reviewed By nataliadV8913OE
I went with Romeo from Xela Adventure and can highly recommend. We left Xela at around 11pm, started hiking at 2am and arrived just in time for sunrise by 6am. I would say you need some fitness and to have acclimatized - I had been in Xela for a few days and still got really sick. Not gonna lie, the nausea is real! It got to the point where every step was a struggle, but not everyone gets it and I am soooo happy I pushed on as the reward at the top is beyond words. Was one of my happiest moments. Romeo was a great guide, calm and kind so try and get him. Be prepared for a bone biting chill - gloves and layers and layers and hat vital. It is absolutely worth the effort
8. Tikal
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,011 reviews
Reviewed By trvlwannab - Charlotte, United States
First, please allow me to promote Tikal Go, a tour company that provides standard and custom tours of Tikal. They did a great job for us & we highly recommend them. The ruins are among the best in the world. We’ve been to several of the more famous ones in Mexico, Peru, the UK, Italy, etc. If you appreciate historic archeological structures, find a way to go to Tikal….you won’t be disappointed. The sheer number of structures is amazing. They are in various stages of the way they were originally found to fully restored. I believe there are 6 major “pyramids”. We climbed to the top of 4 of them. In fact, you can explore inside & climb on almost all the structures. It is an awesome site from the top of the tallest pyramid, looking out over the top of the tree canopy to see the tops of 4 other pyramids peeking out from the canopy. Restrooms and small huts selling cold drinks are scattered through the expansive property. We especially enjoyed the opportunity to walk thru the mostly shady terrain as we explored. There is a main entrance building that has a restaurant, bathrooms & vendors. Other than that, there may be 1 or 2 more vendors as you start out on the path, but we appreciated not having a large number of vendors in the ruins area. We had brought umbrellas to protect us from the sun or potential rain, but never opened them. We did apply ample bug-spray and were never bothered. Near the end of our tour (not at the entrance/exit, but still in the jungle) we ate at a nice restaurant that was a much-needed break after our long walking tour. They had a nice lunch and refreshing cold water towels to put on the back of our necks. While it takes a little time to get to Tikal, it is worth the effort. I think they have a small local airport, but we drove in from the Belize/Guatemala border near San Ignacio. It is about 1 & ½ drive to the ruins. Since we were staying in Belize City the day before, we elected to spend the night in Isla de Flores. It is a wonderful little island, with many nice hotels and restaurants about an hour from Tikal.
9. Lago de Atitlan
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 761 reviews
Reviewed By chrisaT9240NB - London, United Kingdom
Really enjoyed being here and visiting villages. Stayed near sleepy Santa Catarina de Palopo but had bumpy boat rides to Santiago de Atitlan, San Juan and San Pedro. Each of the villages were different, and vibrant with colours, lurking volcanoes, goods for sale and fun visits, San Juan, Picturesque and arty, Santiago, interesting and San Pedro commercialised for backpackers, at least near lakeside
10. Volcan San Pedro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 307 reviews
Reviewed By daidaniu - New York City, United States
Volcan San Pedro is a good, strenuous hike that is worth the effort. My review/expeirence is from during the pandemic and will likely not apply for later times and is designed for people who want to do the hike without a guide. I have been up to the top 3 times (and a couple of times to the lower miradors) during the months of February and March 2021. (DRY SEASON). The Different Thing about doing San Pedro during the pandemic is that it appears to be officially closed. There is no locked gate or anything, but the kiosks and ticketing to get onto the trailhead are without personnel. This means that I have never paid an entrance fee, which in normal times is Q100 for foreigners (about USD$15). There are also very few people on the trail. One time I went up and saw no one else at all in my entire 6 hour hike. (But other times I have seen guided and unguided groups.) I have had the top of the volcano to myself each time I have gone up - a very different experience from the crowded peak at Indian Nose across the lake. There seems to be a significant amount of misinformation going around about doing the San Pedro Hike: Misinformation (1): You must have a guide to go with you, or it is very difficult to do without a guide. This is false. Misinformation (2): You still have to pay the entrance fee, even though there is no one to take the payment. If there is a way to pay for the entrance during the pandemic, I have not figured out how to do so and no one has been able to direct me as to how one would even go about doing this. Misinformation (3): the trail is crawling with robbers. This appears to have been true around 2019 but no longer. Many locals have recommended I not do this hike without a guide for fear of robbers. But when I ask them if they know of any recent robberies, or know anyone who has been robbed, they are never specific, never like, "oh yeah there were some last year!" The "robbers" thing is also said about the trails between the villages on the other side of the lake (like between Tzununa and Santa Cruz) but foreigners walk those trails all the time (locals seem to always take the boats) so I generally believe the threat of robbery is somewhat real, but overblown. Proceed at your own risk. Groups are safer of course. Getting to Trail: The trailhead is easy to find and is about a 45 minute walk or 10 minute/Q20 tuk-tuk ride from the San Pedro Panajachel dock, up through town and onto the highway. The trailhead is by a building and in front of the building is a sign saying what your elevation is at the start of the trail (among other things and signs). On google maps type in "Volcan San Pedro Trailhead" and it will pop up. It is on the left side of the highway (when you are going up). On your way up you will pass two restaurant/mirador places maybe a half mile before you hit the trailhead building. Tuk Tuk drivers know where it is, you can just tell them "volcan san pedro". One of the things about going without a guide is that if you want to go early you will probably have to walk to the trailhead yourself without a tuk tuk, as they can be hard to find before about 7 am. Maybe you can arrange with one to pick you up earlier if you want. When I have hiked it myself starting at 5 or 6 am I just walk up to the trailhead. It's pretty steep, enjoy. Trail itself: The trail is well marked. The first hour or so of the trail goes through a bunch of coffee fields, and people work in these fields (they are not robbers). There are trails for the coffee people that are not the Volcan trail. Follow green arrows when available to stay on trail (these arrows will disappear when you're out of the coffee, it's fine you're still on the right trail). If you get to forks and you're not sure what to do, go UP, do the steeper path. In fact, most of the time if it's not super clear where to go it actually doesn't matter (some forks are just little shortcuts/corner cuts) but going UP will always get you to the right place. There is one fork in between the first and second miradors, marked with a sign, that points you to the "Virgen Guadalupe". This is only a 5 minute or so trail down to a statue of the Virgin Mary (and when i went, also a nice pile of garbage). There is no view. I think this is a waste of time, just keep going on the trail to the left up to the Volcan. There are four major Places on the trail, each that have man-made structures/benches, etc: (1) the 1st Mirador (nice view!), (2) the Second Mirador / Descansa / Swing ("Second Mirador") (Also Nice View!), (3) the Camp (no view!), and the Summit. The First Mirador and the Camp have primitive restroom facilities that I would not personally use (i just pee in the woods wherever). For reference, the Lake is at 1550 meters; the Trailhead is at 1800m; Mirador 1 is at about 2100m; Second Mirador is at 2300m; Camp is at 2867m; and the Summit is at 3020m. There are signs every 100m starting at 2000m, but they're not always easy to see and I have missed one or two of them every time I've been up. The whole trip for me, a 38 yr old man, alone, reasonably fit, takes me a little less than 6 hrs round trip from the trailhead (and a little more than 7 hours round trip from the Pana dock on foot). One of my trips was as follows (no tuk tuk, all on foot): 5:10 am - Leave Pana Dock 5:45 am - Arrive at Trailhead (rest, stretch) 5:50 am - Leave Trailhead 6:38 am - 1st Mirador (rest, pictures) 6:45 am - Leave 1st Mirador 6:49 am - Virgen Trail Fork 7:00 am - Second Mirador / Descansa (rest, snack, pictures) 7:05 am - Leave Second Mirador 7:35 am - Old Tree at 2600 mts 8:09 am - Camp 8:33 am - Summit (Pictures, Snack, rest) 8:55 am - Left Summit 11:50 am - Trailhead 12:30 pm - Pana Dock (included stop at restaurant/shop for water). The early part to the first mirador is the easiest and least steep. When there is no entrance fee, this is a worthy hike on its own, as the view is delightful and it's an easy hike. The portion between the Second Mirador and the Camp is the longest, hardest and steepest. Supplies: One liter of water is sufficient for me. Some people may want more. Bring food, maybe not a whole lunch but at least some granola bars. MOre than just a banana. If you do not snack you will likely get "conked out" coming back down. My third time up I went with a friend who didn't bring enough food and she conked out coming down around the First Mirador, and the nice 45 minute jaunt from First Mirador to the trailhead turned into an over 2 hour ordeal because she was so exhausted and tired. I find the top to be not too cold but it can be windy. Some people may want to bring a jacket. I do not personally bring a jacket. If you start after 7 am I would bring bug spray or pre-spray your clothes. If you get down before it gets hot in the afternoon you won't need it. The dust on the trail can be slippery, so good shoes are beneficial. I did it in reebok runners and walking shoes and was ok but it was definitely a bit slippery for me. Other Notes: There are ground dwelling birds that make movements/sounds in the bush that freaked me out the first time i went up, thinking it could be robbers. (it was not). Also acorn type things fall noisily. Going down and coming up take about the same amount of time. Don't fool yourself into thinking going down is easier. It's not. This is not like, the horriblest hike. There's no rock scrambling or anything like that. It's probably like a Bear Mountain hike (if you know Hudson Valley), plus 20% harder. But it's long. If you are not fit it will take you much longer than 6 hours so plan for that. The time I went with my conked-out friend it took us NINE HOURS just round trip from the trailhead (not pana dock). The earlier you get to the top the less likely you are to be whited out by clouds, as the wind tends to bring clouds into the lake area around noon but sometimes earlier. The summit is above the cloud line and if there are clouds you will see NOTHING. But if you get up there and it's cloudy, wait and the clouds may blow over in a half hour or so. But the best way to avoid cloud whiteout risk is to get up to the top before 10 or 10:30 am and check the weather report the day before. On one ascent i ran into a pair of nice police waiting at the Second Mirador. They were not letting people up past the Second Mirador but they wouldn't tell me why (robbers? Not sure). I was coming down so they didn't bother me, just asked me if there was anyone else at the top (nope!). But i was glad to have gotten past the Second Mirador by like 7 am so I wasn't stopped. I don't think the police get there super early.
