Situated
in Central America Guatemala touches borders with
Mexico, El Salvador, Belize and Honduras and overlooks
both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. With
Guatemala City as its capital and Spanish as the
official language, this country offers heavily forested
and mountainous landscapes.
Guatemala is a volcanic country with numerous volcanoes
along the southern highlands, three of which are still
active; this is where the fertile land lies and where
the higher concentration of the population lives. A
large part of the country is covered by subtropical
forests, scattered with sulphurous lakes and flowing
with rivers, a paradise for wildlife and nature lovers.
The proliferating wilderness is not the only one amongst
the riches of Guatemala, for the country boasts
spectacular Mayan archaeological sites, relics of the
ancient Mayan Civilization as well as monuments and
buildings left by the Spanish conquistadors during the
17th century.
In the forests and hills of the highlands, known as the
El Altopiano, Mayan communities still live in specific
ethnic groups and speak 23 different languages; they
have preserved the sacred rituals of their ancestors and
still make their own clothing by weaving.
The Tikali National park is the perfect site for
spotting tropical birds, jaguars, ocelots, howler
monkeys amongst other rare species. While the ruins of
Tikal is one of Guatemala’s major Mayan sites.
The climate varies depending on the altitude, the
coastal areas are hot throughout the year and the rainy
season goes from May to September.
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