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Chimaltenango

Chimaltenango (Guatemala)

Practical information on Chimaltenango

  • Off the beaten track
1 / 5 - 2 reviews
How to get there
45 minutes from the capital by car
When to go
Never
Minimum stay
A few hours

Reviews of Chimaltenango

Seasoned Traveller
30 written opinions

A town with no interest for tourists.

My suggestion:
No interest: to go there is a waste of time.
My review

Personally, I wouldn't recommand anything in Chimaltenango. It's a town with no interest for anyone travelling to Guatemala, crossed by one of the major trunk roads in the country, linking the capital to Xela. From the bus, you can see for kilometres lining the road: gloomy little shops of tyres, cars and other parts detached from cars, brothels and evangelical churches. It's that Chimaltenango is a necessary route and a major tailback as the dual carriageway reduces to single lanes, causing a sometimes long traffic jam, in particular in the evening (especially Friday), when the capital's workers return to their homes.

I only went through the town once or twice, to change bus, coming from Antigua and going up to Xela. I can happilly mention a park and a church, like anywhere else in the country - that doesn't take away from the fact that the town has no sort of interest and it doesn't justify the trip. On the other hand, its surrounding area is not devoid of interest. At a pinch, you can possibly sleep there, in one of the few hotels, if you want to go to Sumpango on 1st November to see the giant kites.

A view of Chimaltenango from the road
Seasoned Traveller
30 written opinions

A town with no interest for tourists.

My suggestion:
No interest: to go there is a waste of time.
My review

Personally, I wouldn't recommand anything in Chimaltenango. It's a town with no interest for anyone travelling to Guatemala, crossed by one of the major trunk roads in the country, linking the capital to Xela. From the bus, you can see for kilometres lining the road: gloomy little shops of tyres, cars and other parts detached from cars, brothels and evangelical churches. It's that Chimaltenango is a necessary route and a major tailback as the dual carriageway reduces to single lanes, causing a sometimes long traffic jam, in particular in the evening (especially Friday), when the capital's workers return to their homes.

I only went through the town once or twice, to change bus, coming from Antigua and going up to Xela. I can happilly mention a park and a church, like anywhere else in the country - that doesn't take away from the fact that the town has no sort of interest and it doesn't justify the trip. On the other hand, its surrounding area is not devoid of interest. At a pinch, you can possibly sleep there, in one of the few hotels, if you want to go to Sumpango on 1st November to see the giant kites.

A view of Chimaltenango from the road