COUNTRY PROFILES Guatemala MAYAN MAGIC Capital city: Guatemala City | Language: Spanish | Currency: Quetzal | Visa: Not required by British citizens | Time zone: GMT -6hrs


landscapes, colourful markets and beautiful colonial towns. The country’s capital, Guatemala


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illed as the heart of the Mayan world, visitors to Guatemala


can look forward to exploring the ancient empire's best-known monument, Tikal – though there are spectacular ruins littered across the country – as well as magnificent


■ Guatemala's Tikal National Park


SAMPLE PACKAGE Explore's 15-day Ancient Lands of the Maya itinerary takes in visits to the classic Mayan site of Tikal, Lake Atitlan, the traditional mountain village of Nebaj, Chichicastenango and Antigua, plus a visit to the ruins at Copan in Honduras.


City, is located in the more densely populated south. Big, brash and fast-paced, visitors tend to either fall for its raffish charms and stay longer than planned or move on to the highlands of the west. Less than 50 kilometres from the capital is the city of Antigua with its cobbled streets and picturesque churches and plazas, and an impressive backdrop of a trio of volcanoes. Not far from Antigua, pretty Lake Atitlan is also flanked by volcanoes and a host of Mayan villages and towns including Panajachel, the hub of all tourism activity in the area. Boats criss-cross the lake, offering both convenient connections and scenic tours, while soft adventure activities such as


HIGHLIGHTS  City of Antigua  Mayan monument of Tikal  Lake Atitlan  Chichicastenango Market  Town of Quetzaltenango


paragliding, cycling, canoeing and trekking are all on offer in the Atitlan region. Highland towns regularly featured


in itineraries are Quetzaltenango and Chichicastenango, the latter famously home to the largest, oldest and probably most colourful market in Central America. The majority of Guatemala’s


impressive Mayan heritage is to be found in the north of the country in a region known as El Petén, including the aforementioned star of the show and UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, Tikal.


WWW.VISITGUATEMALA.COM


Guyana S


WONDERFUL WILDERNESS


andwiched between the Caribbean and the Amazon


rainforest, Guyana presents an intriguing mix of cultures and a staggeringly varied topography. Inland are rugged mountains, tumbling waterfalls and vast swathes of wild jungle – home to giant otters, black caiman and the elusive jaguar – while the coastline is pockmarked with unspoilt beaches and sugar plantations. Providing further contrast is capital city, Georgetown, where sugar estates, colourful markets and a strange mix of British colonial


HIGHLIGHTS  Kaieteur Falls  Pakaraima Mountains  Georgetown  Shell Beach  Rupununi Savannas


26 | Latin America


architecture and Hindu temples present an usual cultural cocktail. However it is Guyana's reputation


for ecotourism that tends to draw adventurous types to this remote slice of South America. Many visitors will travel by boat on Guyana’s rivers deep into the jungle in order to spot wildlife and visit the giant Kaieteur Falls, a thundering, single-drop waterfall five times the height of Niagara Falls. Among Guyana's other natural highlights include the multi-tiered Orinduik Falls and the grass- covered Pakaraima Mountains which stretch towards Venezuela and Brazil, including the cloud- covered plateau of Mount Roraima. The Rupununi Savannah region,


close to the border with Brazil, is prone to annual flooding from June to August but is home to many


WWW.GUYANA-TOURISM.COM Capital city: Georgetown | Languages: English, Hindu, Urdu | Currency: Guyanese dollar | Visa: Not required by British citizens | Time zone: GMT -4hrs


■ Guyana's Kaieteur Falls


SAMPLE PACKAGE Geodyssey's ten-day Guyana Odyssey trip incorporates visits to capital city Georgetown, Iwokrama, the Amerindian village of Surama, Kuranambu ranch and Kaieteur Falls, plus various guided excursions into the rainforest.


Amerindian villages and a huge number of bird species. Hotel options across the country


range from rainforest retreats and ranches providing fairly basic, back- to-nature accommodation in the interior, to colonial-style guest houses nearer the coast.


BILL CAMERON.


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