Many people skip Guatemala City and head straight to touristy (and dreaded) Antigua. This is a serious mistake. Guatemala City is an amazing, bustling city with a wide variety to see and do. And, despite the many safety warnings, I felt it was perfectly safe. I walked a large portion of the city on foot, including zona 1 (“sketchy,” a “hotspot for all sorts of crime”), zona 2 (“tourists have no business being here”), zona 3 (“downright dangerous”), zona 4, zona 10, zona 11, and zona 13. I only felt uneasy once, when my sister and I wandered a bit too far into zona 1, a bit too close to dark, with a few too people (and a few too many hookers) around. Of course, everything was fine.
*Alien abductions, a giant landfill, rat poison, and an allegedly-dangerous local bar. Read more about our Guatemala City adventures here →
Highlights of Guatemala City
Mercado Sur Dos
I stumbled upon this amazing mercado while walking towards the popular Avenida 6A shopping street on my first visit to Guatemala City. It’s a standard market with all the fruits, veggies, meats, goods, live animals…and rat poisons…you could want.
Mapa en Relieve de Guatemala
Way up in Zona 2, there is a huge, amazing 3D replica of Guatemala, the Mapa en Relieve de Guatemala. The giant relief map is both accurate and to scale! The mapa was completed in 1905, meaning it was made without modern technology. The map’s creators travelled the country (by horse and donkey) for fifteen years to survey the land, and then spent 18 months building it. You can view it from the ground and also on observation towers to get an aerial look. Wild!
Piñatas & People Making Piñatas
While walking back from the (lame) Parroquia Nuestra Señora De La Merced, we stumbled upon an excellent sight – blocks and blocks of piñata shops! Not only were large (like, lifesize), colorful piñatas on display, there were many half-finished piñatas (just white paper) hanging in door frames. I was so excited I abandoned my manners and peered inside, where I got a glimpse of people making the piñatas. Wire molds/frames hang from the ceiling, and kids/adults form the paper-mâché-like substance around the wire to make the piñata shapes. So cool!
Basurero Zona 3 (Guatemala City Landfill)
Guatemala City’s landfill, Basurero Zona 3, is one of the largest in Central America. The landfill has quite a history (not dissimilar to other massive landfils like Nicaragua’s La Chureca and The Philippine’s’ Manila North Cemetery). On the outskirts of the dump are impoverished slums, where residents scavenge for trash to survive (often, their earnings are extorted by gangs making things even worse). The landfill is also responsible for a trail of pollution that reaches all the way to Guatemala’s beaches, and even to Honduras. We accessed it via a broken fence that led to a cliff at the back of the General Cemetery.
Read About That Adventure Here →
Cementerio General
The massive Cementerio General spans numerous blocks in Guatemala City, and even has its own roads and street signs. See a dedicated post on the cemetery here →
Al Portal Bar
A historical bar built in the 1940s and famous for being visited by Che Guevara, serving massive beers. How did we find it? A random man abandoned his post outside another bar, walked us down the street, showcased his travel tattoos to us (obviously we followed him without second thought), and brought us through the wooden door. Read more → Link
Biblioteca Nacional De Guatemala
Officially called the Biblioteca Nacional De Guatemala “Luis Cardoza Y Aragón,” this large public library still has the Dewey Decimal System and paper notecards!
Public Laundry
I’ve seen the public laundry areas in numerous other towns in Guatemala. This massive one was located behind the Mercado Cervantes in Zona 3. At right, women washing clothing in the clay basins. At left, the many laundry items drying in the sun.
Grave Making Shops
In the blocks leading up to the Cementerio General, there are a variety of shops making headstones, their noxious dust fumes wafting into the street. These shops also sell trophies, for some reason that is highly unclear. (I did not spot any trophies in the cemetery).
Self-Guided Walking Tour
From the graffiti in Zona 4 to the numerous churches and historical buildings in Zona 1, I spent most of my time in Guatemala City wandering around on foot.
Boxing Ring
Unclear if this was a boxing gym or venue for boxing matches, but it was still a cool and unexpected sighting we randomly saw while peering into the open door of a warehouse.
Amazing Food
If all else fails, and you aren’t excited by pinatas or landfills or graves…you can at least enjoy the amazing (and cheap) food in Guatemala City.
