A major market center for the Indians of the western highlands, Chichicastenango becomes inundated on Thursdays and Sundays with traders who bring their wares, textiles and handicrafts from all the towns of the region. With all the hustle and bustle of market day, and the outside merchants...

A major market center for the Indians of the western highlands, Chichicastenango becomes inundated on Thursdays and Sundays with traders who bring their wares, textiles and handicrafts from all the towns of the region. With all the hustle and bustle of market day, and the outside merchants who come to town, it is often difficult to see through the activity and focus on the town itself. If a visitor arrives a day early or stays a day after the market, he or she will be able to enjoy Chichicastenango at peace.  The place is very crowded, almost like too difficult to walk!

One good side trip is to visit Pascual Abaj.  It is just south of town, within walking distance...and a little of a hike...but the little forest is beautiful, and when you get to the top, first, you are treated to a wonderful panoramic view of town and the surrounding hills (the crowds stayed behind in the market)  You get to see the 'shrine' to Pascual Abaj.  These guys pray, light candles, they even give cigarettes and alcohol to this 'deity'....pretty interesting.     Just show up at the main church and ask one of the boys there to give you a tour...they will give you a good historical background and take you there...and then walk you around the market.  Some of them also speak english.

This content is licenced under a creative commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 licence and has been copied from World66.com.