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Travel guide
Semuc Champey
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: January to April
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Welcome
Semuc Champey, in a few days
A staircase of turquoise limestone pools on a 300-metre natural bridge, with the Cahabón River roaring through a tunnel underneath. It sits at the bottom of a jungle valley in Alta Verapaz, an hour of dirt track from the nearest paved village, and the effort of getting there is part of the deal.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The turquoise pools of Semuc Champey · about 2 hSix to eight stepped limestone pools over 300 metres, fed by springs, clear to the bottom and around 24°C, for swimming.
- Afternoon · The Semuc Champey viewpoint · about 1 h 30A steep 30 to 45-minute climb on roots and wooden ladders, about 200 metres up, to the famous view; the heat makes it harder.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Semuc ChampeyBooking
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Cahabón sinkhole · a few minutesUpstream of the pools, the wide, muddy river plunges under the limestone bridge with a constant roar, a few metres from the clear water above.
- Afternoon · K'anba caves by candlelight · about 1 h 30Around 300 metres of flooded passages with a candle in hand: swimming, wading chest-deep, climbing ladders and an optional jump into a dark pool.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Semuc ChampeyBooking
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Tubing down the Cahabón · about 1 hThirty minutes to an hour floating on an inner tube down a calm, forested stretch below the site, with valley lodges as exit points.
- Afternoon · Ch'i Bocól waterfalls · about 1 hCommunity-run falls and swimming pools a few kilometres downstream, shaded, cool and usually empty compared with the main pools.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Semuc ChampeyBooking
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Lanquín village free · about 30 minThe Q'eqchi' village that serves as the base, with pick-ups to the site, shuttles onward and one of the valley's few reliable phone signals.
- Afternoon · Lanquín caves · about 1 h 30Lit limestone caves a kilometre from the village; at dusk, tens of thousands of bats pour out over the river for half an hour.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Semuc ChampeyBooking
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Pepián: a thick, spiced stew of meat and vegetables in a sauce of roasted seeds and chillies, one of the national dishes.
- Tamales and chuchitos: maize dough filled with meat or sauce, steamed in banana or corn leaves.
- Black beans and corn tortillas: on the table at every meal.
- Rellenitos: mashed plantain stuffed with sweetened black beans, sometimes with a little chocolate, then fried.
- Highland coffee: grown on the volcanic slopes around Antigua and Atitlán, and among the best in Central America.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Use tourist shuttles rather than the old chicken buses between towns.
- Do not travel by road after dark, and avoid empty streets at night outside the tourist areas.
- Drink bottled water, and give yourself a day to adjust to the altitude in Antigua and at Atitlán.
- Climb volcanoes only with a registered agency and a guide.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Spanish
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hola |
| Thank you | Gracias |
| Please | Por favor |
| Yes | Sí |
| No | No |
| Excuse me | Perdone |
| Goodbye | Adiós |
| Do you speak English? | ¿Habla inglés? |
| I don't understand | No entiendo |
| How much is it? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
| Where are the toilets? | ¿Dónde están los baños? |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favor |
| Help! | ¡Socorro! |
| Cheers! | ¡Salud! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyGuatemalan quetzal (GTQ)
BudgetAbout €45 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJanuary to April
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterBottled only
TippingAround 10%, often already on the bill
Emergency110 / 122
EntryVisa-free for 90 days for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports, valid six months from arrival. The 90 days are shared with El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua under the CA-4 agreement, and a free online traveller declaration must be filled in before flying in or out.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. There is no yellow fever in Guatemala, but a certificate is required if you arrive from a country where it is present. Malaria is limited to some rural lowlands, and dengue is common: use repellent.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/semuc-champey
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.