Chichicastenango and Iximché Day Trip from Guatemala City
Description
Experience Guatemala’s mixture of Mayan influences and living culture on this full-day tour of Iximché and Chichicastenango. Learn about Mayan history from your knowledgeable guide as you explore the archeological site of Iximché. In Chichiscastenango, discover its main attraction, the local open-air market, where you can browse wood products, ceramics and more. You’ll also see the Iglesia de Santo Tomas (Church of Santo Tomas) and the Calvary Church, located in the main plaza.
Tour Options
Itinerary
After pickup from your Guatemala City hotel, venture northwest approximately two hours to the dusty town of Tecpán. You’ll explore the famous archeological site with your knowledgeable guide, who will take you past ceremonial plazas, towering temples and ancient ball courts. Many of the sites you’ll see date back as far as 1400 BC. Spend some time exploring the grounds before heading to Chichicastenango.
Continue your day trip to Chichicastenango. You'll feel like you've stepped back in time as you walk through the town’s narrow cobblestone streets and past its red-tiled roofs. In the main town plaza, visit the famous Chichicastenango open-air market, filled with locally made products like ceramic pots, wood carvings and handmade goods, as well as fruits and vegetables. Browse the local wares and pick up a souvenir or two to take home!
While you’re in the plaza, visit the Iglesia de Santo Tomas (Church of Santo Tomas), located on the east side of the plaza. Dating back to 1540, the church is often home to Mayan rituals. On the west side of the plaza, visit Calvary Church, a smaller version of Iglesia Santo Tomas. You are free to eat lunch (at your own expense) after exploring the market. Once finished, enjoy convenient transportation back to your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick up time will be within 15 minutes of the established departure time in your confirmation.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(15)
Had a great time and tour. Take cash! There was no working ATM. Our poor guide walked us all over the place.
Jorge our guide and Luis our driver were absolutely great. They were on time and ready to go at 6:30AM. Their energy and vibe were so great that you would feel so awake like you just had a shot of good Guatemalan coffee. Jorge is so knowledgeable of the Mayan Culture and at the same time so humble about it that you are not intimidated by his knowledge and feel confident to ask any questions you may have. Iximche is a must go so peaceful and beautiful. The market is so vibrant and alive a real contrast to the experience at Iximche. However, in the end they are a perfect blend. You must take this tour.
Excellent experience; the guide knew a lot about the subject, and encouraged active dialogue, rather than monologues. Chichicastenango is a gem!
The down side amount of travel. The plus sidewas Oscar our guide and Miguel our driver . The sites are amazing and we got to witness some families doing ceremonies in Iximche. The market is a cultural explosion, people are nice, tight spaces and yes sales pitch is strong . Great experience
Given the worldwide capacity, Viator is unfortunately unable to control all service providers ; This local travel agency, Guatemalan Adventure, profit from the extreme popularity of this world famous open air market, but their real objective is sparing a large free time in Panajachel to suggest various optional extra activities ! The guide made an extreme effort not to lose any guests in Chichicastenango (I got free strolling time by forcing him), and brought the group to an extremely expensive restaurant (but with no wi-fi facilities !) at Panajachel with no other eating option. Then, the rest of the time is for recommendations of optional extras. I have no objection for any extras, you do it if you like but ; The program clearly states that the departure is at 6:30 am and the duration is 9 hours. Whereas we went back to hotel at 8 pm past ! Wasting full 14 hours with less than 2 hours at Chichicastenango. I absolutely not recommend this tour with this program .
Very interesting tour, started with a 3 hr drive to Panujechal and tour this lakeside town, with the market running down to the lakeshore for some great photos. than driving up to Chichicastenango, and linked up with an english speaking guide there who showed me the churches, mayan ceremonies, market (incredible), and lots of other interesting things. The day was long but seemed to go fast, we were back 1 1 hrs after leaving in the morning, with lots of good memories. Recommended if you want to get out of the city and see the real guatamala!
We started out with Jose and got about halfway to the Chichicastenango market when we had some car trouble and we all decided it would be better not to continue up the remote mountain. But within 15 minutes Jose had us combined with G-Man's group and we all went on to spend the day at Panajachel and Atitlan Lake. While there we got to visit a very interesting market on the other side of the lake after taking a boat ride. The indigenous women in that village market showed how they weave scarves and grind chocolate, etc. So it all turned out well, plus we had a good meal at the end in Panajachel.
Incredible market & beautiful churches. Lake Atitlan was lovely! Would have loved a little more time there. Fabulous way to spend the day!
Carmen picked us up right on time in a nice, clean van. She spoke great English, was charming and was an extremely careful driver. The tour was well-planned, allowing us ample time to do the shopping we wanted to do at the market in Chichicastenango and to go on to Lake Atitlan and lunch in Panajachel. We highly recommend Guatemalan Adventure! Thank you Carmen! You were a delight!
We decided to take this tour because we did not have time to go there on our own. The guide was very kind, talkative and gave us a lot of information about everything.
