Things to do in The Highlands – Quiché
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Chichi Market
Guatemala's largest and most colorful indigenous market, the twice-weekly Chichi market attracts traders from highland villages for miles around. Stalls and blankets are set up on the plaza and the streets around it. As well as essentials like fruit, vegetables, clothing and spices, you can search for handicrafts such as textiles, masks and carvings.
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Pascual Abaj & Morería
On a hilltop south of the town, Pascual Abaj is a shrine to the Mayan earth god Huyup Tak'ah (Mountain Plain). Said to be hundreds - perhaps thousands - of years old, the stone-faced idol has suffered numerous indignities at the hands of outsiders, but local people still revere it. Chuchkajauescome regularly to offer incense, food, cigarettes, flowers, liquor, Coca-Cola, and perhaps even to sacrifice a chicken, in thanks and hope for the Earth's continuing fertility.
Sacrifices do not take place at regular hours. If you're in luck, you may witness one. The worshipers will not mind if you watch, but be sure to request permission before taking any photos and don't assume it…
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Museo Regional
Chichi's regional museum is crammed with a collection of ceremonial masks, copper ax heads, obsidian spearheads, incense burners, figurines and metates (grindstones for maize). The museum also holds the Rossbach jade collection, with some beautiful necklaces and figurines. Hugo Rossbach was Chichi's Catholic priest for many years until his death in 1944.
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Iglesia de Santo Tomás
Dating from 1540, this church is often the scene of religious rituals that are only slightly Catholic and more distinctly Mayan. For much of the day (especially on Sunday), the path to the church smolders with incense of copal resin, while indigenous prayer leaders swing censers (usually tin cans poked with holes) and chant magic words.
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Casa de San Juan
The San Juan is one of the few eateries in town with style - art on the walls and the tables themselves, jugs of lilies, wrought-iron chairs - and its food is great too, ranging from burgers and tortillas to homemade cakes and more-traditional dishes. There are balcony tables overlooking the market and live music some nights.
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Los Cofrades
This bright upstairs restaurant (enter from 6a Calle) serves up some excellent set meals and has a decent drinks list. Go for a table out on the balcony - the atmosphere inside is very 'dining hall.'
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Tu Café
The plato vegetariano here is soup, rice, beans, cheese, salad and tortillas, for a reasonable around US$4. Add lomito (a pork fillet) and it becomes a plato típico.
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La Villa de los Cofrades
You can't beat this location in the arcade on the north side of the plaza. This is a fine café for breakfast, crepes or larger meals with an Italian influence and good strong coffee.
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Capilla del Calvario
On the west side of the plaza is another whitewashed church, the Capilla del Calvario, which is similar in form and function to Santo Tomás, but smaller.
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Tziguan Tinamit
For a more down-to-earth dining experience, check out this local eatery, with good pastas (around US$4) and hit-and-miss pizzas (US$5).
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La Parrilla
A meat lover's dream, La Parrilla serves up every cut imaginable, chargrilled, in a quiet courtyard setting.
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