Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the northwest, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.
The most populous nation in Central America, Guatemala is a representative democracy. Its capital is Guatemala City. The nation has been relatively stable since 1996 and has been in a continuous development and an economic growth. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
Despite its past turmoil and political instability, travelers are returning to Guatemala because it offers Central America in concentrated form: its volcanoes are the highest and most active, its Mayan ruins the most impressive, its earthquakes the most devastating and its history decidedly intense.
Guatemala is the Mayan heart of Central America and indigenous culture survives in the ancient ruins of Tikal, rituals of Chichicastenango and blazing colors of Mayan dress. Guatemala is a land of tropical jungles, active volcanoes, mountain lakes, mountain cloud forests, volcanic beaches and coral reefs. Weaving is a popular business with a rainbow of colors found in the villagers' hand-woven clothes, each indigenous village has its own unique pattern and color. The ancient ruins of Tikal provide a look at Mayan culture with plazas, an acropolis, pyramids, temples and a museum.
Three different traditions come together in today's Guatemala: a pre-Columbian world of the Maya, a Spanish colonial heritage, a modern, forward-looking society. This diversity is central to the country's great appeal as a tourist destination.
Guatemala City, for instance, is a cosmopolitan capital in every way. Yet, there are remembrances from the 17th century and even Mayan ruins just at the edge of the city
In La Antigua Guatemala, visitors stroll the same cobblestone streets, enjoy many of the same buildings and monuments that stood when this was regarded as one of the most beautiful capitals in Spanish America. In Antigua and Guatemala City, the celebrations for Lent and Holy Week are still spectacular and attract people from all over the world.
It is still possible to experience the clamor and color of an outdoor Indian market where handicrafts are made and sold in the same manner as in days gone by.
Early inhabitants of Guatemala's Caribbean coast required stern fortitude and bravery to defend themselves from the pirates which sailed those waters. These traits, as well as unfailing good humor, are part of the rhythms of the traditional dances of the Garifuna who inhabit the region today.
