Nebaj

Introducing Nebaj

Hidden in a remote fold of the Cuchumatanes mountains north of Sacapulas is the Triángulo Ixil (Ixil Triangle), comprising the towns of Nebaj, Cotzal and Chajul and dozens of outlying villages and hamlets. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, and the local Ixil Maya people, though they suffered perhaps more than anybody in Guatemala’s civil war and are still very impoverished, cling proudly to many of their old traditions. Nebaj women are celebrated for their beautiful purple, green and yellow pom-pommed hair braids, and for their huipiles and rebozos (shawls) of the same colors, with many bird and animal motifs. This is a fascinating area to explore and free (to date) of crime against tourists and of the trails of trash that disfigure so much of the Guatemalan countryside.

Living in this beautiful mountain vastness has long been both a blessing and a curse. The Spaniards found it difficult to conquer and laid waste to the inhabitants when they did. The area suffered terribly during the Guatemalan civil war, especially during the brutal reign of Efraín Ríos Montt (1982–83), when the local people became the chief victims of the army’s merciless measures to dislodge guerrillas from the area. Massacres and disappearances were rife, and more than two dozen villages were destroyed. The horror touched every family, and many people fled to Guatemala City, Mexico or simply to the forests. Some were settled in polos de desarrollo (poles of development), supposed ‘strategic hamlets’ whose real purpose was to enable the army to keep their inhabitants under close control. You may hear some appalling personal experiences from locals while you are here. For a horrifying report and analysis of massacres in and around Nebaj, see the website shr.aaas.org/guatemala/ciidh/dts/toc.html.

The people of the Ixil Triangle are making a heroic effort to build a new future. Development organizations and NGOs have contributed to this and you’ll likely encounter some of their workers too. One project of special interest to visitors, carried out with the help of the Spanish NGO Solidaridad Internacional, has been the establishment of a network of signed walking routes and posadas comunitarias, simple village lodgings with meals and guides available, to make it easier for travelers to hike some of the beautiful Ixil countryside and experience village life.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009