Guatemala tourist information

Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala is a country in Central America, in the south part of North America, bordering Mexico to the northwest, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.

Places to go in Guatemala ...

Antigua Guatemala Flores Guatemala City Panajachel Puerto Barrios Santa Elena

Guatemala is mountainous, except for the south coastal area and the north vast lowlands of Peten department. Its climate is hot tropical – more temperate in the highlands, and drier in the easternmost departments.

All major cities are in the southern half of the country. Major cities are the capital Guatemala City, Quetzaltenango and Escuintla. The largest lake Lago de Izabal is close to the Caribbean coast.

Guatemala's location on the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean makes it a target for hurricanes, including Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and Hurricane Stan in 2005, in which killed more than 1,500 people.

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Cuisine ^*

The cuisine of Guatemala reflects the multicultural nature of Guatemala, in that it involves food that differs in taste depending on the region. Guatemala has 22 departments (or divisions), each of which has very different typical foodstuffs. For example Antigua Guatemala is well known for its candy which makes use of many local ingredients fruits, seeds and nuts along with honey, condensed milk and other traditional sweeteners. Antigua's candy is very popular when tourists visit the country for the first time, and is a great choice in the search for new and interesting flavors.

Many traditional foods are based in Maya cuisine and prominently feature corn, chiles and beans as key ingredients. Various dishes may have the same name as a dish from a neighboring country, but may in fact be quite different for example the enchilada or quesadilla, which are nothing like their Mexican counterparts.

There are also foods that it is traditional to eat on certain days of the week - for example, by tradition it is known that on Thursday, the typical food is "paches" which is like a tamale made with a base of potato, and on Saturday it is traditional to eat tamales. Certain dishes are also associated with special occasions, such as fiambre for All Saints Day on November 1 and tamales which are common around Christmas.

Varieties of Guatemalan Tamales

There are reportedly hundreds of varieties of tamales throughout Guatemala. They key variations are what is in the masa or dough (corn, potatoes, rice), what's in the filling (meat, fruits, nuts), and what is it wrapped with (leaves, husks).

Tamales colorados ("red tamales") owe their name to the tomato and achiote (annato seed) that give them their color, developed with corn masa and are stuffed with tomato recado, raisins, chili, chicken, beef or pork wrapped in plantain or banana leaves.
Tamales negros ("black tamales") are darker and sweeter than their red counterparts due to the chocolate which is added to them. These are also typically wrapped in plantain or banana leaves.
Tamales dulces ("sweet tamales") are tamales that are explicitly sweet and contain fruits and nuts (such as raisins and almonds) and may not contain meat.
Tamales de elote ("corn tamales") are another common type of tamal which usually contain whole kernels of corn in the masa and do not generally contain meat.
Chuchitos ("little dogs") are a very typical kind of Guatemalan tamal made using the same corn masa as a regular tamal but smaller and with a much firmer consistency. The masa is usually mixed with tomato recado and a filler which can be with chicken, beef or pork, and wrapped in a tusas (corn husks) instead of plantain leaves. Chuchitos are often accompanied by a tomato based sauce and sprinkled with a hard cheese from Zacapa. Chuchitos are a very common and are commonly served at luncheons, dinners and celebrations.
Tamales de chipilin and tamales de loroco are other varieties that have said ingredients added to the mix.
Paches are a kind of tamal made from potatoes instead of corn.

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History The Maya civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had led to the death of more than 100,000 people and had created some 1 million refugees.

Languages Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)

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Terrain Mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten).

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Ethnic Groups Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish or assimilated Amerindian - in local Spanish called Ladino), approximately 55%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, approximately 43%, whites and others 2%

Weather Tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands.

Religion Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs

Currency Quetzal (GTQ~USD)

More countries in Central America ...

Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama

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It uses material from the Source wikipedia.