This morning, you will depart from your hotel to visit some of the principal
sites of Guatemala City. Among them, you will visit the National Palace, on
the north side of Plaza Mayor in Guatemala City's historic center. Built in
the 1940s, it served as offices for the president before it was converted into
a museum. Murals by A. Galvez Suarez depict Guatemala's conquest by the Spaniards
and the death of Tecun Uman, a famous Maya warrior. Many cultural events take
place in an adjoining amphitheater.
From there you will continue to the Cathedral, one of the few buildings to
survive the devastating earthquakes of 1917 and 1918, the Cathedral is an unsurpassed
example of neoclassical architecture of its era. Nearby La Merced, an early
19th century church rebuilt after 1918, contains altars and other treasures
transported from the former capital at Antigua. You will also visit the Giant
Relief Map of Guatemala in Minerva Park, a unique engineering masterpiece created
in 1904 by Fransico Vela. It shows in detail the topography of the country.
A hydraulic system brings the rivers, lakes and oceans life. (Note that Belize
is portrayed as an integral part of Guatemala. This is because Guatemala did
not recognize that country's independence until 1991. Newer maps no longer show
Belize as part of Guatemala.). You will also visit the Civic Center, a complex
of modern buildings combining murals and sculpture with architecture and depicting
elements identified with the tradition and millenarian culture of Guatemala.
You will also visit National Museum of Archeology and Ethnology which hosts
the most complete collection of archaeological pieces of Guatemala Maya culture
including a collection of jade pieces and indigenous textiles; the Popol Vuh
Archaeological Museum with its collection of pre-Hispanic art (stone sculpture
and ceramics), exhibitions of Pre-classic, Classic and Post-classic Maya eras
and of colonial and folkloric art that exhibits mostly clothing and masks from
traditional indigenous dances and the Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Textiles and
Clothing, an extraordinary collection of indigenous clothing from different
indigenous communities and regions of Guatemala. And finally the nearby archaeological
site of Kaminal Juyú, which is an interesting place to start visiting
pre-Columbian, ruins in Guatemala.
Availability: Daily
Duration: 8hours approximately
Includes: Private transportation,
and Bilingual guide. |
|
){kind=link}