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Below we share information about archaeological sites that you can easily visit in day tours from Antigua Guatemala. You can make excursions during the day and comfortably returning to your accommodation in the colonial city of Antigua Guatemala if your preference is not to change the hotel.
These destinations are located in open spaces that comply with the global health organization’s guidelines and the Guatemalan authorities concerning COVID -19.
The routes to reach these important Mayan sites are beautiful scenarios that you can freeze in photographs. Different indigenous groups still celebrate ceremonies in these sacred sites, and there is the possibility of finding some ritual.
These cultural adventures are operated privately, giving you the security that the moment we are living needs. This modality also offers the flexibility to adapt to your needs.
Utatlan – Gumarcaa’j
This city was the last capital of Reyno Quiche, located in the Quiche department, 20 kilometers from the famous Chichicastenango market and 126 kilometers from Antigua Guatemala.
King Gucumatz founded the city of Utatlan after the year 1250. The site consists of three architectural complexes separated by ravines, and each complex represents different powerful groups connected through roads. The complexes are located in defensive positions and feature a square, two temples with two steps and ball game, low platforms, and a circular shape structure. Documents indicate that temples were dedicated to the deity of heaven, Tohil, and to the goddess of the moon Awilix.
Other buildings have been built in honor of Gucumatz and Jacawitz, the mountain-related god, king; conquerors burned down the city in 1524.
It is an excellent idea to combine Gumarcaaj with the tour of the Chichicastenango market, which is held every Thursday and Sunday.
Iximche
The archaeological site of Iximché is located in Tecpan, Chimaltenango department, 55 kilometers from Antigua Guatemala, was founded in 1475, when the Cakchiquel separated from the quiches.
The ceremonial center of Iximché is located at the top of the mountain, surrounded by ravines. The site has more than 160 structures that makeup three or four sets associated with the lineages that governed the city. There are several scattered altars and a ball game to the south; the central part is separated from the residences by a wall.
During the excavations, a character’s tomb was discovered with a vibrant offering, including a headband and a necklace with gold beads in a jaguar shape. The Spanish conquerors maintained a brief but friendly relationship with the Cakchiqueles, with whom they allied in their fight against quiches and Tzutujiles. Iximche was the first capital of the Spaniards in the year 1524.
Mixco Viejo
The site is located in Chimaltenango 62 kilometers from Antigua, Guatemala, located on a volcanic sand plateau surrounded by ravines, which gave it a natural defensive configuration.
Mixco Viejo is frequently mentioned in indigenous texts as Old Jilotepeque; Mixco Viejo Name derived from the idea that it was the Pokomam group’s capital. Recent studies have suggested that the site was the center of the Chajomá, belonging to the Cakchiquel group that arrived from Joyabaj, Quiche, around 1450.
The site has more than 100 structures distributed in a dozen sets, two main squares, a ball game, a pyramid with two steps, and double temples, which shows the influence of central Mexico.
