If you want to do something stupid, visit Xela for only one day. Like most tourists do. To immediately leave for the three-day hike to Lake Atitlan. Or be brave and wise. Give the town some time to blossom. And discover how gentle and relaxed the second city of Guatemala really is.
Xela divides opinions. It is so schizophrenic it even has two names. Officially it is Quetzaltenango. But the locals use the shorter and much easier version: Xela.
The town really has two faces. At first sight there isn’t much special, except for it being an excellent base for climbing the surrounding biggest volcanoes of the country. There aren’t any impressive museums or great lakes to admire. But dive below the surface and you can discover the real Guatemala: not nearly as chaotic as capital Guatemala City, not nearly as picture-perfect as colonial Antigua. But with a relaxed Parque America, a massive cemetery with amazing street art on its outer walls, some great food, and some of the friendliest people who are trying to make a living somehow.
CONTENTS
- General introduction
- Food and drinks
- Art
- Activities / Things to do
- Getting there and getting around
- Miscellaneous
General introduction
The geographic location – in a valley between volcanoes but still at a height of more than 2,000 metres – makes Xela a gentle place to live. It will rarely get too hot, up in the mountains (and in the evenings) it can even get chilly.
Traffic on the narrow streets can be slightly chaotic and dirty. But because this place is the centre of the entire region, the most important facilities (electricity, internet) tend to be fairly reliable. In the past, Xela has been hit especially by big earthquakes, the one from 1902 almost destroying the entire city.
Navigation is quite easy, once you know how it works. From north to south they have the ‘calle’ (streets), numbered from 1 to 2 etc. And from west to east they have the ‘avenidas’ (avenues), also numbered. House numbers indicate between which streets or avenues they are located: 2a Calle 304 means that the house is on 2nd street, between avenues 3 and 4 (because the house number is between 300 and 400). Easy, right? 🙂
Xela isn’t overtly touristic, and those foreigners who do come here are almost always with a mission. They either want to climb the mountains, or they want to learn Spanish in this town.
Food and drinks
There are loads of very decent places to eat and drink in Xela. Some recommendations:
- Monte Alto: if there is one place I fell in love with, it was Monte Alto. The place in the northeast corner of Parque Central has something to offer for breakfast, lunch and dinner. From waffles and omelettes to pastas or delicious smoothies and coffee, this place is a reliable, nutritious and affordable hideout for travellers
- Bajo La Luna: Not nearly as chique as the bigger (and also delicious) cafe La Luna, the ‘Bajo’ is how you would imagine a dark rock bar. The wooden interior makes it cosy, the place is so intimate that I was immediately invited to join a party of American students learning Spanish in Xela. The burgers themselves aren’t world-class, but price-quality is excellent and the service is unusually relaxed. Definitely also a place to stay for a couple of hours (and beers) too many
- La Stampa: close to Monte Alto, on the absolute northeast corner of Parque, this place actually mainly serves tapas. You can use it for dinner as well, though it would take some effort to be saturated here. Stampa is also an excellent place for lunch or some mid-afternoon snack and wine
- Guiseppe Pizza: if it is a good sign when a restaurant is visited by locals, then Guiseppe is one of the better places in town. Don’t come here for the atmosphere though: the bright white lights give you the feeling you are in a cantine of a factory, the televisions showing football matches from two years ago don’t improve the experience as well. But the friendly service and the mouth-watering pizzas definitely make up for that
- Sabor de la India: It is a somehow strange experience to have Indian food in Central America. But Sabor does an excellent job, with a good range of curry dishes and other specialties. In winter, don’t forget to bring a jacket, because this semi-open place can get slightly chilly
- Baviera Cafe: from the outside, Baviera doesn’t look special. But once inside you have to ascend a small stairs, that brings you to the delightful cosy and bright inner courtyard. One small stairs away is the room at the front, with beautiful colonial styling. Add to this the great coffee and a great range of sweet dishes, which make Baviera a great place to just chill and read a book for hours
- Pasaje Enriquez: On the northwest side of the Parque is this beautiful corridor. It is a bit touristic, but has several bars and restaurants for people who are looking for something easygoing and not-so-adventurous 🙂
Activities / things to do
- Cemetery: if we have to die, Xela might be a great place to be buried. On the western edge of the city center, through a yellow arch, a neverending cemetery spreads out over what might be close to a square kilometre. Some of the graves are small pieces of art in themselves, and from the park of the dead you have sweeping views of the nearby volcanoes. When visiting, don’t forget to have a look on the northern outer wall, which is covered with street art
- Xela hardly has any museums. The Museo de Arte was surprisingly hard to find, as it turned out it had limited opening hours and was nothing more than a big room in a massive building. But the collection, around 400 contemporary paintings, is fascinating. There are also lots of works by Rodrigo Diaz, who also happens to be the curator and your personal guide
- Movies: totally bored by doing nothing? The cinema in the Ulew Mall (corner of 2a Calle and 19a Avenida) might be your escape for the night! Check beforehand though whether the movies screen in their original language
- Markets: close to Parque Central / Parque America (on the southern side) is the Central Market. This lively building has three stories, with a gently-sloped walkway taking you all around. Even more lively, not to say absolutely crazy, is the partially open-air market around Minerva bus station. On the western side of the sports ground you can buy everything. The stall owners are not exactly shy in trying to sell you stuff, this is the real Guatemalan experience. Just beware of pickpockets here
- Fuentes Georginas: when you need to recover from a day of hiking, this spa is an excellent option. Open daily from 9am to 6pm, these hot springs a couple of kilometres south of Xela are a revelation
- Hiking: obviously the main reason to come to Xela. So, there are plenty of companies to guide you around (see the article about the hike to Lake Atitlan for options). The most common hikes are:
- Laguna Chicabal: this hike to the holy lake of Chicabal is an excellent exercise / warming-up walk. For indigenous people, this water is extremely important so don’t go swimming. From Xela you take a chicken bus to the village of San Martin Sacatepequez, from there it is 2-3 hours of sometimes steep climbing to see the crater lake. Go very early, as in the course of the day usually clouds will ruin the view (some things you have to learn the hard way…)
- Santa Maria: towering over Xela, this volcano is a hard climb. You can do it on your own, though it’s easy to get lost. From the base of the mountain, after already probably two hours of climbing, it is a grueling ascend to the top at 3,772 metres. The views are stunning though
- Tajumulco: Guatemala’s highest peak at 4,220 metres, this is offered almost always as a two-day trek from Xela, with an overnight stay in a tent on the mountain
- Lake Atitlan: the classic three-day trek from Xela to San Pedro La Laguna is around 46 kilometres. After two days of steady, not-too-heavy hiking, the morning of day three brings you sunrise views over Lake Atitlan as a reward. San Pedro itself is a cheap hippie paradise, slightly touristic but a good place to recover before taking the boat to Panajachel on the other side of the lake
Getting to Xela and getting around
- There are first-class buses going to Guatemala City, and chicken buses as well of course. If you want to go to Antigua, you have to change in Chimaltenango. Another important connection is to Panajachel, at Lake Atitlan
- If you are coming from (or going to) Mexico, the easiest way is to book a minivan from/to San Cristobal de las Casas. You will change buses at the very lively Mexican-Guatemalan border, where you also might have to pay tourist tax if coming from Mexico (check beforehand if you already paid this amount on your incoming flight, if applicable). The entire trip takes around 8-10 hours, depending on traffic and level of suicidal wishes of the driver, and can also easily be done from Panajachel
- In Xela, you can either take chicken buses or microvans for local transport. These microvans are like shared taxis, you hop on and off along predestinated routes (just say a prayer and hope you will travel into the proper direction), you pay upon exiting. Fares on these vans are ridiculously cheap
Miscellaneous
- If you really want to do some proper shopping, there is a modern shopping center including a Walmart (yes, you read that right) northwest of Minerva bus station
- The weather: as anywhere in Central America, rainy season is from April until September/October. It doesn’t rain all day, but if it does, expect a downpour… Because of its geographical location in between the mountains, it can get quite fresh on winter evenings around Xela