Guatemala
City is a city loved for its diversity of people, culture, religion,
and landscape. With the largest indigenous population in Central
America, Guatemala, the "Land of Eternal Spring", is home to more
than 100 distinct ethnic groups. Visitors can experience luxurious
spas in nearby Antigua, climb active volcanoes, tour the jungles,
or explore the still undeveloped and pristine Caribbean coast.
Guatemala City, home to one-fourth of the country's entire population
and the capital of Guatemala, features a huge range of restaurants,
hotels, and shopping facilities that can fit any budget. Guatemala
City is the country's commercial, financial, and cultural center.
It is also the hub of the nation's transportation. Coffee, the chief
export, is grown on the surrounding hillsides. The city is clean
and modern, with wide paved streets radiating from Central Park.
On the plaza are the National Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral.
In La Aurora Park is the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, famous
for its collection of Mayan Indian objects. The National Archives
and the National Library are other noteworthy buildings in the city.
Other points of interest include the remarkable concrete relief
map of the nation in Minerva Park, a colonial aqueduct, the central
market, and the Olympic City built for the Central American Games
in 1950. Near the city are the villages of Chinautla, famous for
its handmade pottery; Mixco, which supplies the capital with fruits
and vegetables; and the Indian towns of San Pedro and San Juan Sacatepequez.
|
