REGION 5 - Central
Conformed by the Departments of Chimaltenango, Sacatepéquez and Escuintla

• Name of the department: Chimaltenango
• Department's Capital: Chimaltenango
• Extension. 1,979 km2
• Municipiums: Chimaltenango, Acatenango, Comalapa, El Tejar, Parramos, Patzicía, Patzún, Pochuta, San Andrés Itzapa, San Jose Poaquil, San Martín Jilotepeque, Santa Apolonia, Santa Cruz Balanyá, Tecpán Guatemala, Yepocapa, Zaragoza.
• Climate: Cold
• Altitude. 1800 mts above sea level
• Population: 446,133
• Demography. 225 inhabitants per Km2
• Urban population. 48.8
• Rural population: 51.2
• Population per gender: Men: 219,000. Women: 227,133
• Population per ethnic group: Indigenous: 352,903. non-indigenous: 93,230
• Literacy: 257,271 (population of 7 years of age and more)
• Economically-Active Population: 137,987
• Creation of the Department: September, 12 - 1839
• Tourism:

1) San Juan Comalapa: Indigenous kaqchikel town which economic activity is based on the growing of beans, corn, broccoli and other vegetables another activity is their handcrafts, specially paintings of their customs and of their daily life in town.

2) Patzun. During Corpus Christy, the streets of Patzun are covered with wood powder rugs of thousands of colors with different decorations and arcs made of flowers which reflect the religious fervor of the population. This is the time where you can admire the traditions and the colors of the Guatemalan towns.

3) San Andrés Itzapa: This is the town, which honors Maximón. This half pagan idol and half catholic semi-saint character satisfy the necessities of some ethnical groups that have been margined and forgotten. Maximón represents the rejection of the indigenous to the Spaniards and their religion. According to them, Maximon doesn't make any discrimination, he protects them, he talks to them and he eats and drinks the same as them.

4) Iximché: The archeological site of Iximché was the former capital of the kaqchikeles, it is surrounded by precipices, which makes think it was a fort with some temples and houses made out of adobe.

5) Mixco Viejo: The archeological site of Mixco Viejo from the Post-classic Period (1250-1525 A.C.) was the capital of the pokomames during the Conquest. Here you will be able to appreciate a great landscape since its edifications are located on top of a hill.

• Name of the department: Sacatepéquez
• Department's Capital: Antigua Guatemala
• Extension. 465 km2
• Municipiums: Antigua Guatemala, Alotenango, Ciudad Vieja, Jocotenango, Magdalena Milpas Altas, Pastores, San Antonio Aguas Calientes, San Bartolomé Milpas Altas, San Juan Sacatepéquez, San Miguel Dueñas, Santa Catarina Barahona, Santa Lucia Milpas Altas, Santa Maria de Jesús, Santo Domingo Xenacoj, Santiago Sacatepéquez, Sumpango
• Climate: moderate
• Altitude. 1,530 mts above sea level
• Population: 248,019
• Demography. 533 inhabitants per Km2
• Urban population. 84.2
• Rural population: 15.8
• Population per gender: Men: 122,258. Women: 125,761
• Population per ethnic group: Indigenous: 104,802. non-indigenous: 143,217
• Literacy: 165,948 (population of 7 years of age and more)
• Economically-Active Population: 90,646
• Creation of the Department: by Decree on November 12, 1839, after having been separated from Chimaltenango.
• Tourism:

1) Antigua Guatemala: Antigua Guatemala is located only 43 kms from the capital city at Panchoy Valley and surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, it was the capital of the Central American isthmus during the Spaniard colony. This is without a question, one of the most important tourist attractions of Guatemala. At Antigua, commonly called, you will find stone-roads keeping its original outline, which gives a splendor to the architectonic legacy created in houses, patios, convents, churches and public buildings. Antigua Guatemala was declared in 1979 as Cultural Patrimony of the humanity by the UNESCO.

What to do in Antigua Guatemala?

Make a tour within Antigua Guatemala and the closest towns include visits to museums, churches and convents. During these tours is possible to appreciate the stone-roads, the plazas and buildings built of rubblework of an antigueño baroque style with decorations of rich and different vegetable and geometrical shapes, you will also visit handcraft markets, bookstores and high-quality boutiques. It is recommended to visit painting and sculpture galleries. If you are interested, you can also visit the silver and jade factories, coffee and macadamia farms, houses of indigenous handcrafters where they elaborate handcraft products or take an adventure and climb the closest volcanoes.

2) Major Plaza: This plaza has 112 mts from north to south and 115 mts from east to west. At the center of the plaza is the mermaids fountain, which was built by the Principal Architect Diego de Porres back on the XVIII century (1739). The Major Plaza is surrounded by the Cathedral, the Palace of the General Captains, which back on the colonial period harbored the Real Hearing, the Real Chapel and the Residency of the General Captain; the Bakers Portal and finally the City Hall.

3) Santiago Museum: Is located at the building of the City hall. Here you will appreciate the collection of the Spaniard arms, colonial furniture and paintings such as the one of Pedro de Alvarado.

4) Old book Museum: Is located where the first printing company was installed back on 1660, by the Bishop Fray Payo Enriquez de Rivera. Has a collection of the documents of century XVI to XIX.

5) Colonial Art Museum: Located in the building that was used by the University of San Carlos de Guatemala in 1773, this museum has an interest collection of baroque painting and sculptures of the colonial period.

6) San Francisco Temple and Convent: Built by the principal professor Jose de Porras in 1625, this temple is an example of the Hispanic baroque with beautiful Salomonic columns, and the convent was one of the biggest where more than eighty religious men lived there. In the interior of the temple is found the grave of the only Central American Saint, Hermano Pedro de San Jose de Betancourt

7) Capuchinas Convent: The cloister has thick and low columns, making it earthquake resistant, giving the characteristic of the antigueño earthquake-resistant constructions. At one side of the cloister, communicated by an aisle, there is an access to the circular tower, which has 18 cells, used back then by the religious women for their praying retirements.

8) La Merced Temple and Convent: The style of the frontage of the temple is the baroque earthquake-resistant antigueño. The interior is of three naves with canyon vault. It has a sober decoration and simple at the same time, since the original altar-pieces were transferred to the temple of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in the capital city. At the central patio is located the biggest fountain in all the Central America of the colonial period, its diameter is of 27 mts.

9) Casa Popenoe: In this common colonial house is exhibited a beautiful collection of furniture of the colonial period, as well as art works and interested rooms decorated beautifully as the living room, bedroom, kitchen and a nice aromatic garden at the back of the house.

10) Santa Catalina Arch: This arch was used to communicate the convent of the nuns with the fruit and vegetable gardens . The construction was finished on 1694 and today represents a singular urban element in Antigua Guatemala.

11) Santa Clara Temple and Convent: Is located inside the convent from north to south; this is because the nuns of the Santa Clara Order lived in confinement, they never went outside. The two-arch convent is very wide with a fountain located at the center of it.

12) Centro Cultural La Azotea: Here are three museums: The Music Museum, The Coffee Museum and the Textile Museum.

What to do in the surroundings of Antigua Guatemala?

13) San Antonio Aguas Calientes: This town 6 kms away from Antigua Guatemala manufacture the best fabrics of the country. The embroidery technique used by the manufacturers of this place is of high quality and is the same on both sides. The baroque style church keeps the sculpture of San Antonio de Padua, patron saint of the town.

14) Ciudad Vieja: It was the second capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala and in the middle of XVI century was destroyed by a heavy rain, which provoked a muddy current coming from the volcan de agua. Within its attractions is the beautiful baroque style church from the XVIII century, you can also find coffee plantations that surrounds this place.

15) Santiago Sacatepéquez: Every November 1 st , takes place one of the biggest traditions, exactly on the day of the saints, where many families or relatives manufacture kites over 5 mts of diameter, which they try to make it fly over the cemetery of this place. The symbolism of this rite is to join by this kite flight the spirits of our dead love ones.

• Name of the department: Escuintla
• Department's Capital: Escuintla
• Extension. 4,384 km2
• Municipiums: Escuintla, Guanagazapa, Iztapa, La Democracia, La Gomera, Masagua, Nueva Concepción, Palín, San Jose, San Vicente Pacaya, Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa, Siquinalá, Tiquisate.
• Climate: Hot
• Altitude. 347 mts above sea level
• Population: 538,746
• Demography. 123 inhabitants per Km2
• Urban population. 47.7
• Rural population: 52.3
• Population per gender: Men: 271,923. Women: 266,823
• Population per ethnic group: Indigenous: 40,297. non-indigenous: 498,449
• Literacy: 328,158 (population of 7 years of age and more)
• Economically-Active Population: 167,352
• Creation of the Department: August, 22 - 1,903
• Tourism:

1) Monte Alto y La Democracia: Monte alto is the archeological site and La Democracia is the town where you can appreciate the big stones found in Monte Alto, called barrigones (big-bellied). These stones are very important because they are the connection between the Olmeca and Mayan cultures and because the similitude of these stones with Tolteca's and Yucatan's decorations. In the museum of the town is another collection of pieces of the same origin but smaller.

2) El Baul: This is a sugar cane farm where several pieces have been found, the most important one has been a stele with two ball players dressed with animal furs, a stone jaguar and a huge head with beard.

3) Auto Safari Chapin: At Club Auto Safari Chapin you will find a great variety of American and African animals, a small zoo, souvenir stores, restaurants, pools, boat rides, gardens, bird zoo, children play place.