Guatemala
When
Jan to April
Price
From 2 300€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
5 nights
Ideal length
Semuc Champey, in the remote Alta Verapaz region, is a natural limestone bridge over three hundred metres long on which strikingly turquoise stepped pools have formed, fed by an underground river that plunges beneath the rock formation. The site, long difficult to reach and thus spared mass tourism, remains one of Central America's least-known natural wonders.
A hike to the viewpoint overlooking Semuc Champey offers the most spectacular overview of the stepped pools, before the descent to swim in water whose clarity and colour shift with the time of day and light. The shallow, calm pools contrast with the roar of the Cahabón River plunging just below beneath the limestone rock.
A candlelit exploration of the partly submerged Kan'ba caves allows swimming and climbing through a network of limestone galleries dotted with small underground waterfalls. The region remains mostly inhabited by the Maya Q'eqchi' people, several nearby villages of whom offer guided visits to discover a way of life still largely rural and traditional.
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Utopia Eco Hotel
An eco-lodge on the riverbank steps from Semuc Champey, raised wooden bungalows, hammocks strung facing the jungle.
Posada Las Marías
A simple, friendly guesthouse in the nearby village of Lanquín, run by a local family, an ideal starting point to reach Semuc Champey early in the morning.
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