The hidden treasures of northern Huehuetenango: Laguna Brava

Two years ago, I had planned a trip to hike to the Laguna Brava o Laguna Yolnajab but never went. So when I realized it was close to the Posada where we were staying I knew I had to go. 

On the third day of our stay, we left the Finca early with my dad and our guide to get to the community where the treck starts. As the Laguna is on a private land owned by three communities, you need to hire a local guide (75 Quetzales) even if you already had a guide from the Finca (130 Quetzales) and you need to pay the entrance fees (25 Quetzales per person). 

It’s known as the Laguna Brava because at certain times, but often in the evenings, the wind enters the valley and the waves of the lagoon are heard from afar.

It took us 45 minutes on a hilly and muddy path to get to a high point where the descent to the Laguna starts. From there you can see the river meandering to the Laguna. In the area, they are cultivating corn, sugar & coffee so you can see local working.  In 30 minutes, you got from 1600 m to 1150 m high on a steep path that can get really muddy when it’s raining. We were lucky that the weather had been quite dry before we arrived! Then we still had an hour walk on planned land to get to Laguna. When there is some sun, the water appears emerald and really clear. It's beautiful!

La Laguna is 4 km2 of turquoise water. You can only see a small part of the Laguna and for the rest you need to go by boat. They have 4 cabanas with 4 beds each where tourists can spend a night & visit the Laguna by boat the next day. 

We enjoyed the view of the Lake while eating our cereal bars. As it's only accessible by foot, it's really calm and we could hear the birds singing.  It took us 2h30 mn to walk back to the car with one hour of hard climb. Back at the community, a cold drink was waiting for us. 

 My dad and our guide, ready to start the descent to the Lake.

 You can see the lake at the back

 Laguna Brava

our two guides in a long discussion

the cabanas where tourists can sleep for a night

The hidden treasures of northern Huehuetenango: Mayan Painting & Hoyo Cimarron

Around Finca Chacula there are many beautiful places to discover than not many people have to the opportunity to see while visiting Guatemala. 

The first day of our stay, we drove an hour from the Finca to see some very old Mayan paintings. As they are on a private property, you can’t go on your own. Even if you wished you would not be able to find them as they are well hidden. We had to wait for an hour for our local guide to arrive as the guide from the Finca did not call him before to warn him of our arrival. By the time we started walking it was 11 am, so very hot & sunny. The path is rocky and with not much shade, so one better leaves early! But the walk was worth it as we saw the Maya paintings not many had the opportunity to see. Unfortunately, nothing has been done to protect them and some modern graffiti are decorating the wall. Nobody really knows how old they are as a specialist would need to come to study and as our guide said, that cost money.

Entrance fees are 20 Quetzales per person and the guide is 80 Quetzales for the group. 

In the afternoon, we left my mum & Logan at the Finca and went to the Hoyo Cimaron with my dad. 20 minutes by car followed by 1 hour walk and you get to the impressive hole.  The path to get there has been restored not a long time ago but it was done at Guatemalan way, it’s better to walk on the side than actually on the path. The Cimarron is a huge hole of limestone rock, perfectly round and has a diameter of approximately 200 meters and a height of 150 meters. 

On the edges of the Cimarron, the climate is relatively dry, with particular vegetation. At the bottom of the Cimarron however, moisture is evident, possibly because of the underground streams (there is a nearby lagoon and one at several kilometers) and features a green forest, totally different from the trees to the ground level.

There is a legend about the Hoyo that said that the first owner of the Finca Chacula was very rich and was exploiting the people. The Mexican Zapata heard about him and came to kill him. But the owner hearing the rumor fled with 3 donkeys carrying the entire god he had. They were trapped at the border of the hoyo and he thought that if the god was not for him it will be for anybody else. So he pushed the donkey into the Hoyo and jumped after them. So it’s believed that there is god in the Hoyo.

Entrance fee is 10 Quetzales per person, parking is 10 Quetzales and the guide is 80 Quetzales for the group but this is very easy to do it on your own if you know where the parking is.

 On the way to the paintings

 Mexico is not far

 the painting

 hunting scene

 a dog?

 Walking to the Hoyo Cimarron. The path is so uncomfortable to walk on!

 The Hoyo

 Eagle waiting for some food