One of the coolest things to see in Guatemala City, in my opinion, is the Mapa en Relieve de Guatemala, the largest Relief Map in the world, and the only one of its kind.

The relief map is located in Parque Minerva and is an impressive 21,500 square feet. It shows the topography of Guatemala in great detail, at a scale of 1:1000. The map is best viewed from above, on the observation tower located high above the map.

Looking down on this amazing work of art, you can see lakes and rivers, cities, volcanoes, important locations and roadways. It is interesting to think about the fact that this map, constructed in 1904 was done without the aid of modern Read more

The Palacio National (National Palace) in Guatemala City, is another excellent stop to add to your tour of the capital.

The Palace was built in the 1930s and 40s and first served as a home for President Castaneda. It continued to be home to the Guatemalan presidents for many years, but now serves as a museum displaying works from various Guatemala artists.

The building is today known as Culture’s National Palace, and it is interestingly enough the origin of all the roads in the Republic and even has a spot known as Kilometro Cero (Zero Kilometer), which is the exact center of Guatemala, and is located in the center of the palace’s drawing room.

The Palace is one of the Read more

Cascarones abound in Guatemala, which can be only one thing! Carnival time is here!

Carnival is different in every country, and the way that Latin America celebrates Carnival is to be a bit like Mardi Gras. The celebrations lead up to Ash Wednesday, which will be celebrated on February 25th, 2009. Ash Wednesday leads up to what all of Latin America calls Semana Santa, or Holy Week, one of the biggest celebrations of the year.

Throughout Semana Santa every town in Guatemala boasts processions which are meant to represent the funeral march of Jesus Christ. There are also processions that depict the days leading up to Jesus’ death and the events from the point of view of Mary, who the Christian Read more