| Starting from: | $155per person |
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| Duration: | Day Trip |
| Languages: | English, Spanish |
| Starts at: | 2da Calle Poniente 2, Antigua, Guatemala |
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Our market days have been vibrant and colorful since more than 4,000 years ago. Chichicastenango Market Days only on Sundays and Thursdays, it is one of the largest markets in Central America and one of the best places to experience our rich culture and spiritual heritage blended with the New World influence from the Spanish Colony.
Chichicastenango, popularly called “Chichi” by locals, is an indigenous town in the Guatemalan Highlands where a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, traditions and tastes, takes place. Its market days predates the Spanish arrival and still draws people from far and wide to trade fresh products, handcrafted goods, vibrant textiles and local recipes. This experience walking through lively streets, visiting the cemetery, a traditional mask workshop, and the historic Santo Tomás Church, guided by experts and passioned local friends.
Chichi is the perfect culture-watching thing to do as a day trip, tasting seasonal fruits like the original GUATEMALA BANANA, and trying PAN DE MUERTO “bread of dead” (a bread honoring the four elements of life to those are no longer in this physical cosmos), textiles and everyday scenes of Mayan life.
Our visit includes one on one time with a local costume factory called Morería, where generation after generation the family has dedicated their passion and art to the creation of traditional customes worn or dressed at festive dances, step inside of Santo Tomás Church to appreciate how Maya and Catholicism Ideology has blended together.
| Departure |
Casa Mandarina 2da Calle Poniente 2 Office #8, Antigua GuatemalaThe Columbus Guatemala Travel will be waiting for you! |
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| Stop 1 |
Chichicastenango Mayan MarketIt will take us 3 hours by car to reach Chichicastenango with some stops along the way (bathroom break, quick coffee or simply to straight your legs). Our time will be distribute throught the different areas in the local market that has extended on the streets as well, we will enjoy the overview of the vegetable and fruits area where colors captivate your creativity. |
| Stop 2 |
Iglesia de Santo Tomas and Calvary ChurchIglesia de Santo Tomas (Church of Saint Thomas). This historic structure, built in 1540, often plays host to Mayan rituals. Just across the plaza is Calvary Church, a slightly more compact version of Iglesia Santo Tomas represent the duality. The most impresive to remember is that this used to be a Mayan Altar and one of the most relevant treasures of our times was found there in 1700, The Popol Vuh manuscript by friar Fray Francisco de Ximénez, he translated it to spanish. |
| Stop 3 |
CemeteryYou probably will get shoked by the way we manage our relationship with afterlife. The Mayan belief of the cycle of life centers on rebirth and renewal, viewing death not as an end but as a transition within a continuous cycle. Cemetery offers a vibrant rainbow of pigments that celebrates our loved ones, colors simbolized different family roles, mausoleums and cruses will be elements in your picture. Generally these market days are the perfect moment to visit the tums to place offerings or Maya Ceremonies to send messages of love, it is extremely important to show respect while we are present. |
| Stop 4 |
LunchWe could highlight some suggestions of where to delight lunch served by local families, local most traditional recipies are TAMALES or SAK'POR. |
| Stop 5 |
Mask Factory or MoreríaMasks functioned as ceremonial and symbolic objects in religious, political, and funerary rituals. They allowed rulers to assume the identity of gods or supernatural beings, connecting the earthly world with the divine and securing their power and lineage. They have been also used in dances and performances to teach history, culture. |
What You’ll Experience
| Day Trip | |
| English, Spanish | |
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For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.