Guatemala Guide
The western highlands
Main Plaza
Huehuetenango is a likeable if unremarkable provincial town, its character best expressed in the unhurried atmosphere of the attractive plaza, where shaded walkways are surrounded by grand administrative offices. Overlooking this square, perched above the pavements, are a shell-shaped bandstand, a clock tower and a grandiose Neoclassical church, a solid whitewashed structure with a facade crammed with Doric pillars and Grecian urns. In the middle of the plaza, there's a relief map of the department with flags marking the villages. The details are vague and the scale a bit warped, but it gives you an idea of the mass of rock that dominates the region, and the deep river valleys that slice into it.