The Market at Chichicastenango

We had to follow the tourist trail to Chichicastenango, 2 hours NW of Guatemala City. “Chichi” is known for one of the biggest native markets in Central America. The vendors start setting up their portable booths in the main plaza and on the surrounding streets the night before and continue on until the following morning.

At night, you can wander through the booths and see the Guatemalan families cooking their evening meals - and serving to the visitors.


We spent the day wandering through the market. John looked quite a site—there aren’t many 6’2” Guatemalans…. We bought a beautiful woven table cloth.

We wandered into the 400 year old Church of Santo Tomas, next to the market. There are 18 stairs leading up to the church- each one standing for a month of the Mayan calendar year (The Mayan calendar has 18 months with 20 days per month).