Guatemala Guide
The Pacific coast
The Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa region
On the Carretera al Pacífico isSANTA LUCÍA COTZUMALGUAPA, an uninspiring Pacific town a short distance north of the highway. The only reason to visit the area is to take in the Pipil and Maya archeological sites and carvings around Santa Lucía, the colossal Olmec carved figures at nearby La Democracia or the surf at Sipacate to the south.
A tour of the sites around Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa can be an exhausting and frustrating process, taking you through a sweltering maze of cane fields. Doing the whole thing on foot is certainly the cheapest way, but also by far the hardest and riskiest – visitors have been robbed occasionally. You're far better off taking a round trip by taxi instead – you'll find plenty in the plaza in varying degrees of decrepitude – and, if you bargain, US$15 should cover all the sites.