10% offFree cancellation
Chichicastenango Market Day Trip
- 6–8 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 2 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Chichicastenango, popularly called “Chichi” by locals, is an indigenous town in the Guatemalan Highlands where a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, traditions and tastes, takes place. Its market days predates the Spanish arrival and still draws people from far and wide to trade fresh products, handcrafted goods, vibrant textiles and local recipes. This experience walking through lively streets, visiting the cemetery, a traditional mask workshop, and the historic Santo Tomás Church, guided by experts and passioned local friends. Our visit includes one on one time with a local costume factory called Morería, where generation after generation the family has dedicated their passion and art to the creation of traditional customes worn or dressed at festive dances, step inside of Santo Tomás Church to appreciate how Maya and Catholicism Ideology has blended together.
Inclusions
What's included
- Private transportation
- Bottled water
- Snacks
- All Fees and Taxes
What's not
- if you are staying in Guatemala City there is a extra fee of $30
- Lunch
Itinerary
It will take us 3 hours by car from Antigua to Chichicastenango with some stops along the way (bathroom break, quick coffee or simply to straight your legs)
it is one of the largest markets in Central America and one of the best places to experience our rich culture and spiritual heritage blended with the New World influence from the Spanish Colony. Our time will be distribute throught the different areas in the local market that has extended on the streets as well, we will enjoy the overview of the vegetable and fruits area where colors captivate your creativity.
Iglesia de Santo Tomas (Church of Saint Thomas). This historic structure, built in 1540, often plays host to Mayan rituals. Just across the plaza is Calvary Church, a slightly more compact version of Iglesia Santo Tomas represent the duality. The most impresive to remember is that this used to be a Mayan Altar and one of the most relevant treasures of our times was found there in 1700, The Popol Vuh manuscript by friar Fray Francisco de Ximénez, he translated it to spanish.
You probably will get shoked by the way we manage our relationship with afterlife. The Mayan belief of the cycle of life centers on rebirth and renewal, viewing death not as an end but as a transition within a continuous cycle. Cemetery offers a vibrant rainbow of pigments that celebrates our loved ones, colors simbolized different family roles, mausoleums and cruses will be elements in your picture. Generally these market days are the perfect moment to visit the tums to place offerings or Maya Ceremonies to send messages of love, it is extremely important to show respect while we are present.
Masks functioned as ceremonial and symbolic objects in religious, political, and funerary rituals. They allowed rulers to assume the identity of gods or supernatural beings, connecting the earthly world with the divine and securing their power and lineage. They have been also used in dances and performances to teach history, culture.
The return trip to Antigua Guatemala will take us another 3 hours with some stops along the way, but this time you will return with the heart of Chichicastenango in your memory
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.7
- 59
- 40
- 30
- 21
- 10
Ratings come from 10 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Pickup
- Pickup is included for everyone.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 12 travellers
- Operated by
- Columbus Guatemala Travel S.A.
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Walking involved in the market, but tour is based on individual pace of traveler, so special accommodations can be made.
How it compares in Antigua
- Its from-price is 28% above the median of the 89 day trips we list in Antigua.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 28 of 89.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Antigua
Antigua Guatemala is a colonial city of cobbled streets, ruined churches and pastel façades, ringed by three volcanoes in the Guatemalan highlands.
Antigua was the capital of Spanish Guatemala until earthquakes in 1773 led to the move of the government to the present capital. The grid of cobbled streets and low colonial houses survived, together with the ruins of grand churches and convents, and the town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The yellow Santa Catalina Arch, with its clock tower, frames Volcán de Agua at the end of a street.
Top-ranked sights in Antigua: Antigua Central Park (Parque Central), Cerro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross), La Merced Church (Iglesia de la Merced).
Special offers in Antigua
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
