1,000 Places to See Before You Die

by Patricia Schultz

  A Still-Thriving Pre-Columbian Trading Town

  MARKET AT CHICHICASTENANGO

  Quiché, Guatemala

  Guatemala’s largest market takes place in Chichicastenango, one of the country’s most colorful and accessible highland towns and an important trading center since pre-Columbian times. “Chichi” is famous for its indigenous arts and crafts, hand-woven textiles and blankets, and wooden masks. It draws tourists by the busload every Thursday and Sunday, who wander the market’s myriad stalls and head to the maze of comedores (open-air food stalls) to sample fried chicken and blue corn tortillas.

  Chichi’s market is a popular day trip from Lago Atitlán and Antigua (see pp. 969 and 968), but stay overnight to get the full experience of the market. Watch as Maya families from the highlands set out their wares and exchange news the night before, then settle in to sleep under the stars. Rise at dawn to watch the market swing into action, making sure to visit the inner nucleus around the fountain to find the most traditional goods. If you’ve come for Sunday’s market, visit the whitewashed 16th-century Church of Santo Tomás, where the cofradías, or traditional Catholic brotherhoods, often stage processions or ceremonies.

  Opened in 1932 just a block from the market, the Mayan Inn was the first hotel in town and is still its most famous. The Quiché-Maya staff wear traditional dress, and the 30 rooms are accented with local crafts. The larger, Colonial-style Hotel Santo Tomás, built around a courtyard fountain, offers simple luxuries like quiet rooms with fireplaces and views of the countryside.

  To see where the locals shop for everything from chickens and sacks of beans to alarm clocks, head to San Francisco el Alto, whose name refers to its perch atop a rocky escarpment overlooking the plain of Quetzaltenango. Thousands flock here every Friday for the largest market in Guatemala’s western region, conducting their business with a quiet politeness that is distinctively Maya.

  WHERE: 40 miles/65 km northwest of Antigua. VISITOR INFO: www.visitguatemala.com. MAYAN INN: contact Clark Tours, tel 502/2412-4753; www.clarktours.com.gt. Cost: from $110. HOTEL SANTO TOMÁS: Tel 502/7756-1061; www.centralamerica.com/guatemala. Cost: from $99. BEST TIMES: Thurs or Sun for market; Dec for Feast of Santo Tomás and Christmastime.

  A Diver’s Paradise in the Western Caribbean

  THE BAY ISLANDS

  Honduras

  The lovely coral reefs off the lush, mountainous Bay Islands (Islas de la Bahía) are the southernmost extension of Belize’s barrier reefs (see p. 961), world famous as the largest after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (see p. 653). But the unparalleled marine life here seems even more beautiful than Down Under because it is less touristed and less developed (at least for the moment: The islands are poised to become a full-blown tourist destination).

  Along with the three principal Bay Islands—Roatán, Utila, and Guanaja—there are four lesser ones and 60 small cays, stretching 70 miles in a northeasterly arc, all of which offer countless diving and snorkeling opportunities. Reefs fringing the Bay Islands support the greatest diversity of corals, sponges, and invertebrates in the Caribbean. It’s heaven to divers, from scuba snobs avoiding overtrafficked destinations elsewhere in the Caribbean to newbies who have heard that these islands are one of the best and least expensive places to earn dive certification.

  Roatán is the largest, most popular, and most developed. Still, it’s a good base for diving or snorkeling, and even nondivers come for Roatán’s Institute for Marine Sciences, a research and educational facility with dolphin-training demonstrations open to the public. Located on the periphery of Anthony’s Key Resort—the island’s best sited and best all-around hotel—the institute also offers a chance to swim, snorkel, or dive with dolphins in the open ocean or inside the lagoon.

  Utila, the smallest of the three major Bay Islands, is what Roatán used to be: an inexpensive, unspoiled diving paradise. It’s best known for its thriving population of whale sharks, gentle plankton-eating behemoths which can be observed up close on 4-hour snorkeling outings organized by the Whale Shark & Oceanic Research Center. Guanaja, the third major island, lies to the north of Roatán and is the quietest of all.

  Even closer to La Ceiba, the mainland’s big port city where the ferry departs for the Bay Islands, are the two small Cayos Cochinos (Hog Islands), surrounded by some of the most pristine coral reefs in the entire barrier reef system. For those willing to trade some creature comforts for a near-perfect location, Plantation Beach Resort has ten rustic rooms and one of the best dive operations in the country. If Roatán is your base, boats can whisk you here for a day of superlative diving.

  Scuba divers revel in the extensive coral reefs that surround the Bay Islands.

  WHERE: Roatán is 35 miles/56 km off the northern coast of Honduras. ANTHONY’S KEY RESORT: Tel 504/445-3003; in the U.S., 800-227-3483; www.anthonyskey.com. Cost: diving packages from $135 per person, per night, all-inclusive (off-peak), from $165 per person (peak). WHALE SHARK & OCEANIC RESEARCH CENTER: Tel 504/425-3760; www.wsorc.org. PLANTATION BEACH RESORT: Tel 504/3371-7556; www.plantationbeachresort.com. Cost: rooms $200, inclusive; $300 for all-inclusive dive package. BEST TIMES: Mar–Sep for dry season; year-round for whale sharks in Utila.

  Wildlife and Whitewater Rafting

  PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK

  Honduras

  Amighty mountain that stands outside the port city of La Ceiba and towers nearly 8,000 feet high, Pico Bonito (beautiful peak) is the heart of 270,000 acres of tropical rain forest that represents Honduras’s greatest preserve, much of it wild and inaccessible. Though the mountain is steep and much of it is off-limits, the park that surrounds it offers plenty of hiking trails that wend through verdant, varied forests at different elevations. No fewer than 22 rivers carve through this dense habitat, creating spectacular waterfalls; the most popular hiking path leads to La Ruidosa, “The Noisy One.”

  Pico Bonito National Park is home to more than 400 species of birds, including extravagantly plumed purple and blue cotingas, toucans, motmots, and hummingbirds. Jaguars, ocelots, and pumas roam the hills, though sightings are rare. Tapirs, deer, and white-faced and spider monkeys are more common, as are countless species of reptiles, amphibians, and butterflies.

  The most luxurious place to hang your binoculars is the Lodge at Pico Bonito, an eco-resort made up of 22 stone and native-pine cabins with verandas and with hammocks scattered among old cacao groves. Set on 200 acres right at the park’s edge, where two fast-moving rivers meet, it offers ample access to natural wonders and adventures; though just a half-hour’s drive from La Ceiba, it feels remote. Swim in the rock pools on the Río Cordalito, spot birds from high wooden towers, visit a butterfly sanctuary where 40 species flutter about, or hike into the forested hills before unwinding in the spa. Adrenaline junkies can take on the Río Cangrejal, which offers some of the best Class II to V rapids in Central America.

  Another jewel is the unassuming Casa Cangrejal bed-and-breakfast, whose warm and engaging Canadian owner serves robust Honduran coffee and luscious home-baked breads for breakfast. Its four spacious and tastefully designed rooms are nestled in the fragrant rain forest, within earshot of a babbling creek. The inn is close to the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, 20 miles west of La Ceiba, where three mountain-fed rivers meet in a massive estuary brimming with wildlife, including the elusive and endangered West Indian manatee.

  WHERE: 5 miles/8 km south of La Ceiba. VISITOR INFO: www.letsgohonduras.com. THE LODGE AT PICO BONITO: Tel 504/440-0388; in the U.S., 888-428-0221; www.picobonito.com. Cost: from $205 (off-peak), from $265 (peak). CASA CANGREJAL: Tel 504/408-2760; www.casacangrejal.com. Cost: $65 (off-peak), $90 (peak). BEST TIME: Feb–Apr for dry, cool weather.

  The Caribbean of Yesteryear

  THE CORN ISLANDS

  Nicaragua

  The sweet, unspoiled Caribbean of the 1950s lingers on the Corn Islands, off the eastern coast of Nicaragua. On Big Corn, the attractions are many: fine diving and snorkeling in turquoise water, cheap lobster, affor
dable digs, deep-sea fishing trips, and gloriously undeveloped, palm-fringed beaches like Picnic Beach, which you’ll often have to yourself. Despite its name, Big Corn is just 4 square miles, so you can zip around easily by golf cart, bike, or moped.

  At the small-scale hotels of the island, air conditioning and hot water are considered high-end amenities, and that’s part of its back-in-time charm. Arenas Beach Hotel is the nicest, with 22 comfortable rooms and bungalows right on Southwest Bay Beach, one of the island’s most beautiful stretches of white sand. Lounge on a cushy sofa sheltered by a white tent while sipping the hotel’s signature Sand Fly.

  On Little Corn, a 30-minute boat ride to the northeast, there are no golf carts—or roads, for that matter. Dirt paths crisscross the 1-square-mile island, and you can walk everywhere. Still, there’s plenty to do, from beach hikes to swinging in a hammock with a good book to diving in a healthy reef system blessed with an abundance of marine life. The best place to play castaway is at Little Corn Beach and Bungalow, eight simple cabanas tucked among the palm trees on pretty Cocal Beach. The resort serves great margaritas and food that is delicious and unpretentious—think ribs, fish tacos, and homemade coconut ice cream. Snorkel on the reef in front of the hotel, or ask the American owners to set you up with a morning of ocean fishing. With few bars and good places to eat and limited electricity, Little Corn is for travelers who are happy with ceiling fans and mosquito netting, and who understand when primitive is bliss.

  WHERE: Big Corn is 50 miles/80 km east of Bluefields. VISITOR INFO: www.bigcornisland.com. ARENAS BEACH HOTEL: Tel 505/2222-6574; www.arenasbeachhotel.com. Cost: from $90; dinner $10. LITTLE CORN BEACH BUNGALOW: Tel 505/8333-0956; www.littlecornbb.com. Cost:$70; dinner $9. BEST TIMES: Nov–May for fine weather. On Big Corn: May for Palo de Mayo; late Aug for Crab Soup Festival and celebration of emancipation of slaves.

  Colonial Grandeur on a Great Lake

  GRANADA

  Nicaragua

  Lack of tourism has helped keep both Nicaragua’s natural environment and its heritage intact. Nowhere is this more evident than in Granada, an elegant and captivating colonial city on the western shores of Lake Cocibolca (also called Lake Nicaragua), the largest freshwater lake in Central America.

  Today the heart of the city is still the lively tree-lined Parque Central (also known as Parque Colón), dominated by the magnificent yellow Cathedral of Granada. Enjoy the view from the polished-wood balconies of Hotel Plaza Colón, an exquisitely restored 27-room colonial mansion overlooking the park. Three blocks away is Central America’s oldest church, the massive, sky-blue San Francisco with its attached convent (now a museum); it’s home to a display of towering black basalt statues, carved about 1,000 years ago and discovered in the 1880s on the ancient ceremonial island of Zapatera. Stroll to nearby El Zaguan for some of the best dining in town. The courtyard restaurant serves succulent fire-grilled meats, fresh rainbow bass from the lake, and sea bass from the Pacific.

  Just offshore from Granada are some 365 diminutive islands called Las Isletas, formed 20,000 years ago by an eruption of the now dormant Volcán Mombacho. Many of the islands are privately owned, including the one where you’ll find the luxurious Jicaro Island Ecolodge, with nine sleek, two-story casitas that look across the water to the volcano.

  So wide is Lake Nicaragua that it takes 4 hours by boat to reach Ometepe, the exquisitely beautiful, twin-peaked island formed by two volcanoes. Ometepe is a mosaic of small farms producing plantains, corn, avocados, and coffee, and home to two lazy commercial centers, Moyogalpa and Altagracia. In addition to climbing the volcanoes, visiting secluded beaches, and hiking trails that wind among trees ruled by monkeys, you can view more than 70 ancient petroglyph sites and numerous stone idols scattered across the island.

  A perfect day trip from Granada is to Masaya, long a center of art and culture and well known for its market; this is the place to find handmade hammocks, intricate pottery, wood carvings, and leather goods. Not much farther is Masaya Volcano National Park, where a road and trails lead directly to the most accessible live volcano in Nicaragua and, some say, the world. This low, gaping gas-belching volcano and its fiery eruptions inspired the Spanish to call it the Gates of Hell.

  Nicaragua’s main seaside resort, San Juan del Sur, is just an hour’s drive south of Granada, a perfect spot for those seeking idyllic beaches or great surfing, sailing, deep-sea fishing, and scuba diving in the Pacific. Fifteen bungalows at Morgan’s Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge enjoy magnificent views of the ocean, particularly at sunset. Guides can help you explore the 5,000-acre jungle-meets-beach property, home to howler, spider, and capuchin monkeys, as well as sloths, countless birds, and sea turtles.

  Since 1583, the Cathedral of Granada has been destroyed and rebuilt many times.

  WHERE: 27 miles/45 km southeast of Managua. VISITOR INFO: www.visitnicaragua.com. HOTEL PLAZA COLÓN: Tel 505/2552-8489; www.hotelplazacolon.com. Cost: from $100. EL ZAGUAN: Tel 505/2552-2522. Cost: dinner $15. JICARO ECOLODGE: Tel 505/2552-6353; www.jicaroecolodge. Cost: $380 (off-peak), $480 (peak), all-inclusive. MORGAN’S ROCK: Tel 505/8670-7676; www.morgansrock.com. Cost: from $320 (off-peak), from $370 (peak), inclusive. BEST TIMES: Dec–May for good weather; Easter week for celebrations.

  An Unspoiled Archipelago of Eco-Surprises

  BOCAS DEL TORO

  Panama

  Sixty-eight islands off the northwest coast of Panama comprise a complex and diverse ecosystem where you can experience a wealth of natural wonders both on land and in the water. Trek through wildlife-filled rain forests, glimpse endangered turtles on white sand beaches, and surf the world-famous waves off Isla Bastimentos and Isla Carenero, where Columbus made landfall in 1502.

  Isla Colón is the largest of the islands; its Bocas Town is the region’s main hub, though even that is a relative term. The smattering of inns and rustic eco-lodges exude a laid-back vibe and a strong local flavor. One example is Punta Caracol Acqua-Lodge, nine over-the-water bungalows connected by a wooden walkway. Step out of your room to enjoy swimming, kayaking, and snorkeling. Marvel at the sunset from your wraparound terrace, then dine on seafood paella at the open-air restaurant or take a water taxi into Bocas Town to Guari Guari, where the European owners create an inspired six-course menu from local ingredients.

  Much of 20-square-mile Isla Bastimentos is home to the National Marine Park (the country’s first). It measures more than 30,000 acres that range from dense virgin rain forest to a marine sanctuary, where you’ll find clear waters and a barrier reef. Dive or snorkel the coral forests of the two Cayos Zapatillas (Slipper Islands), or sunbathe on Red Frog Beach. Make your base the friendly La Loma Jungle Lodge, a 57-acre working farm at the park’s edge, complete with cacao, coconut, and banana groves. The highest of its four open-air thatched “ranchos” are worth the aerobic climb, offering sweeping views of the bay. The young owners make their own chocolate, which shows up in their famous chocolate-coconut cake; candlelight dinners might feature local grilled yellow jack with passion fruit pico de gallo.

  Al Natural provides a beach alternative; its seven round, thatch-roofed bungalows were built using the traditional techniques of the Ngöbe-Buglé Indians and rest perched on stilts at the edge of the Caribbean’s crystal blue water. The Belgian owners are known for their excellent food, served in a two-story dining space with an observation tower.

  A dock extends out from the coast of Isla Bastimentos, one of the larger Panamanian islands and only reachable by boat.

  WHERE: Isla Colón is 19 miles/32 km off the coast of Panama’s northwest corner, and 341 miles/550 km northwest of Panama City. VISITOR INFO: www.visitpanama.com. PUNTA CARACOL: Tel 507/757-9410; www.puntacaracol.com. Cost: from $344 (off-peak), $430 (peak), all-inclusive. GUARI GUARI: Tel 507/6627-1825. Cost: dinner $25. LA LOMA: Tel 507/6619-5364; www.thejunglelodge.com. Cost: $200, all-inclusive. AL NATURAL RESORT: Tel 507/757-9004; www.alnaturalresort.com. Cost: from $240, all-inclusive. When: closed May–Jul 15. BEST TIMES: Dec–Apr for nicest w
eather; Sep for International Festival of the Sea in Isla Colón.

  In Search of the Resplendent Quetzal

  CHIRIQUI HIGHLANDS

  Panama

  Forming a land bridge between Central and South America, Panama is slightly smaller than the state of South Carolina, yet it is home to more bird species than all of North America. King of them all is the resplendent quetzal, whose 2-foot-long, iridescent green tail feathers were used in the headdresses of Aztec rulers and were considered more valuable than gold. Today sighting a quetzal is a highly treasured experience in Central America, and Panama’s Chiriqui Highlands, which rise to 10,000 feet in the westernmost part of the country, is where you’re most likely to find them, together with blue cotingas, trogons, silver-throated tanagers, and toucans.

  The misty, mountainous rain forests of Parque Nacional Volcán Baru are home to nearly 250 bird species, abundant orchids, and countless plants that grow in the shadow of the 11,401-foot dormant volcano. The 35,000-acre park’s famed 5-mile Quetzal Trail is the country’s most popular day hike for its panoramic lookouts and chances of spotting the bird for which it is named. Also here are the Chiriqui and Chiriqui Viejo rivers, revered by serious rafters for their Class III to V rides and lush scenery.

  Boquete, the charming colonial town at the foot of the eastern slope of Baru Volcano, is a good place from which to strike out into the wilderness. Its landmark hotel, the 25-room Panamonte Inn & Spa, dates from 1914 and offers luxurious country-inn accommodations, beautiful gardens, and a renowned restaurant overseen by chef-owner Charlie Collins. Another nearby option is the Coffee Estate Inn, which offers three charming bungalows on a 6-acre shade-coffee farm rich with birdlife as well as beans.