quetzaltenango (Xela), gt
Quetzaltenango, or for short and much more common, simply 'Xela' (pronounced SHELLA), is a very large and infrequently traveled city in Guatemala. It's Guatemala's second largest city. It is located in Guatemala's western highlands, high up at an elevation of 7600 ft or so. So the weather up here is going to be nice and fresh. Xela is a city that not many tourists ever really go to. To be fair Xela isn't all that pretty of a place, and there's not a whole lot to do. But it is one of those places that is really interesting to travel to because you will be one of the only people around that is visiting the place. You'll get a glimpse into life in Guatemala without any touristic influence for the most part. Xela is also home to an extremely large number of Mayan and of Indigenous descent persons. So it's really rich with culture, — and authentic culture at that. Now visiting Xela won't be for everyone. It's going to be for the people who likely have a really long time in Guatemala and want to see something off the beaten path. If you are one of those people, I would recommend coming to check it out. It's one of the more memorable places that I went in Guate, simply because of how rare it was to meet other travelers. It really throws you out of your comfort zone again as a traveler and at least for me that why I started doing it in the first place. Additionally, I came here to go to Spanish school. I couldn't recommend coming here more to learn Spanish. There is an excellent Spanish school here, and there will be a small group of people from all over the world here to learn Spanish at any given time. The courses are cheap, you are providing a really nice living wage for the teachers, and it's one of the best environments I have been in to improve my Spanish. All that being said, Xela is a great place to learn Spanish as well because you have practically no outlet to speak English or any other language. Everyone here is speaking Spanish, so you are forced to learn. Outside of Xela there are also some really nice hikes and a few very interesting towns that you can spend the day in. There's great street food, a really nice little central square in the center of town. Xela, while not for everyone, is in my opinion a really cool way to get a taste of proper Guatemalan culture. Additionally, Xela being the second biggest city in Guatemala, there are people from here all over the world. When you undoubtedly meet a Guatemalan from Xela, the look on their face when you tell them you have been is pretty rewarding.
Xela is located in the Western part of the country, about 4-hour drive from Guatemala City. It's technically in southern Guatemala when you look at it on a map, but it's also really close to the border of southern Mexico. It's situated up in the mountains at an elevation of around 7,600 feet. It's surrounded by volcanoes, mountains, rivers, valleys, and hot springs. Big time volcano country. Xela is a massive city, so it's not going to be like other cities in Guatemala where just getting dropped off there you'll be able to figure it out. It won't be easy traveling. So when you are coming into town make sure that you have where you are going figured out, and how you are going figured out.
Also if you don't speak any Spanish, travel around here is going to be difficult. Just be prepared. It's a very safe place. People are extremely kind and helpful, but no one is going to speak English for the most part. None of that should scare you really. The center of town is pretty much the Parque Central. This will give you your bearings on where everything is here. Stay near here, hang out here. Etc., etc.
So in order to get here.
BY CAR - If you are driving, it's pretty simple to get here. It's a 4-hour curvy mountain road up from Guatemala City. The total drive is 200 kms and its mostly windy and hilly. The roads in Guatemala are the worst in Central America so be prepared for potholes, limited shoulders, and as always, never ever drive at night. Follow your maps, but for the most part you are going to be on the Pan-American or CA 1, as you make your way up. the ride will take about 4 hours. You may also stop at the lake on the way over. The drive from the lake is only about 2 hours.
BY BUS - Probably the most common, and also most authentic way to get here is by chicken bus. If you are coming from Antigua you can pick up a chicken bus here. The route you are going to take is going to be long and it's going to include many stops but you will save money. In total, the trip will take about 5 hours.
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Antigua-Chimaltenango - 5Q. Buses depart every 20 minutes. The route is about an hour. Get off at the first stop in Chimaltenango.
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Chimaltenango-Panajachel. 35Q. In Chimaltenango take the next bus to Panajachel (the lake town).
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Panajachel-Xela. 20Q. - Now you hop on the chicken bus whenever it shows up to take you to Xela. The ride may be crowded, and will take a few hours.
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Arrive in Xela at Xela Minerva Station. You are not going to be near your accommodation likely, so you'll have to take a cab. Or you can venture on the local buses. Up to you.
All said and done, by taking the chicken buses you will be spending around 60Q, or $8. A lot less than the $30 you will have to spend for the shuttle. The amount of time is not much different either, and you have had an awesome experience. These buses are safe, just don't be dumb, and keep your stuff close to you.
BY SHUTTLE - The easy way. Just grab a shuttle. They all go through Antigua, or through the lake. If you are coming from Antigua you can book one here. If you are coming from the Lake (Pana), you can book one here. They will be $25 - $30 depending on where you are coming from.
Taxis, whenever you get to Xela are all over the place and cheap. No matter where you are, you can probably grab a taxi. There are also little collectivos running around, but those can be pretty confusing if you don't know the area.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
There's not really any sort of backpacking scene here in Xela. The majority of the housing is going to either be through a Spanish school if you are doing that, or through something like Airbnb. I stayed at a little Airbnb, which was pretty much a home-share for like $10 per night. A great thing about Xela, is that it is going to be super-cheap.
There are a few hostels that you can find on Hostelworld but there's not going to be much in the way of hostel culture. It will just be a place to lay your head.
Regardless of what kind of place you decide to stay at your goal is going to be to be as close to the park as you can be. I would say you 100% want to be walking distance to the central park.
I will highlight two of the popular ones below.
Very simple but very cool little colonial house only a few blocks from the central park (where you want to be). It's going to be cute little homey accommodation. Only $8 for the night for a dorm as well.
Another good option to stay here in Xela. Will probably be your best bet to find any sort of culture or social scene. It would be my top choice if that's what I was looking for. When I came to Xela I was kind of looking to just spend some time on my own, so I elected to not go here. But they have a rooftop where people have some drinks together and stuff, and it's a great choice. — Also in a great location, a few blocks from the park.
EATS
Churrasco is an awesome local type of food. It's practically BBQ. It's going to be super meat-heavy, but if you want to try it this is an awesome and cheap place to get it. Full meals here in a sit-down setting for no more than 25Q ($4).
Randomly stumbled on this place as I was walking around one day. It's a cute little cafe with a nice rooftop to sit on and have some coffee, a beer, or some food.
An amazing little restaurant near the central park. It's got an amazing burger, and the inside is really interesting and cozy. Probably one of the cooler places to eat in the whole city. Inside is super unique. There's also a cafe called 'La Luna' that's a great place to come and chill and eat lunch. 'Cafe La Luna' is open during the day, and 'Bajo La Luna' is the restaurant open at night.
Xela is a huge place with so many options to eat. It's a massive city, and just walking around you are going to find some cool places to eat. I don't really think that I did a very good job of exploring the food scene here, but I will give my 2 cents on the places that I went and enjoyed.
Don't sleep on the street food from the park here. That was probably my most common meal.
Restaurants
This was the best street food that I had in the entirety of Guatemala. They are called 'Garnaches' and are little spheres that are topped with diced meat and some veggies. They are super cheap and delicious. Best ones I had are right in the central park every night.
This translates directly to 'milk punch', which is pretty gross. But it's more like a hot chocolate, but milk. It's so delicious, and with the cold weather in Xela it's a perfect drink to walk around with. Make sure you get cinnamon (con canela) on the top. Sold right in the central park from a cart.
There's a bunch of other delicious and cheap street food options in the central park to try. Notably 'Pupusas' and 'Churrasco'. Go give it all a try.
NIGHTLIFE
I didn't experience the nightlife here whatsoever. It exists I am sure, and it's also certainly going to be very local.
SIGHTS
There are a good amount of things to do and see in and around Xela. First off there is simply walking around the streets of Xela and exploring. They are vast and there's plenty of different little neighborhoods to explore. I would say primarily the best places in the city to explore are in and around the Parque Central.
I also spent about every afternoon in the central park. Just sitting, eating some fresh mangos or having dinner from one of the street carts. Usually the park is filled with people and their kids enjoying the early evening, so that was one of my favorite things to do.
Also there are a few volcanoes in really close proximity. Also some really interesting towns right around.
If you are doing Spanish school here, which I recommend if you don't already speak Spanish, you can organize things to do with the other students, or the school will have them organized for you.
I have mentioned this, but going to Spanish school is one of the coolest things to do in Xela. Assuming you don't already speak Spanish. But come here, there is an amazing school called 'Proyecto Lingüístico Quetzalteco de Español' or PLQ for short. They are linked here. There's a bunch of Spanish schools, but this one was great for me. Additionally, the people who run it were very involved in Guatemalan politics of past, so you learn a lot about the history of Guatemala here, which I found great.
There's a relatively easy and beautiful hike through the mountains to the viewpoint of an active volcano called 'Santiaguito'. The Alltrails link is here, and is much more helpful than I could be. The volcano has been actively erupting for 10 years now, and it's a beautiful view. The hike to the viewpoint is about two hours long, with a one-and-a-half-hour descent. The trail is 5.1 miles out-and-back. I got kicked by a horse here, so a word to the wise — don't pet the wild horses.
I didn't personally do this, but there's another volcano called 'Santa Maria' that you can hike up to the top of. More info from Alltrails is here.
Salcaja is a really cool little town just outside of Xela. It's home to the textile industry of the area, so you can go here and see the old way that they produce textiles here and all of the colorful fabrics that you see on a daily basis walking around Guatemala and Xela. They also have a really cool market here. When you are here, give a try to the local spirit called 'Caldo de Frutas'. It's a grape-type alcohol, that is fermented in a barrel underground. It's tasty and unique.
Another great volcano hike to do is a very interesting one. Chicabal is a volcano outside of Xela that has a lake in the middle of the crater. It's pretty amazing. Alltrails info here.
SURFING
You're in the mountains of Guatemala. You won't find a wave up here.