Description:
Spend the first seven days biking, hiking, kayaking and exploring magnificent highland scenery, volcanic craters and the crystal-clear Lago de Atlitlan. The last two days are spent around the Mayan ruins at Tikal where we provide a guided tour and plenty of time to explore on your own.
Activites:
Cultural Exploration, Hiking, Biking, Ecotours
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Antigua
We will meet the guests off their flight and transfer them to the beautiful city of Antigua. Overnight in Antigua.
Day 2: Biking Antigua Valley
This morning we will provide an orientation and safety talk before selecting the bikes, giving out helmets, gloves and water bottles and embarking on the first “warm-up” ride. This morning ride will take you through colorful local Maya villages, coffee plantations and colonial ruins. You will enjoy biking on the slopes of Antigua’s towering volcanoes and through traditional farms and fields. Overnight in Antigua.
Day 3: Pacaya Volcano - Hiking & Bike
This morning we will transfer guests approx 1 hour to Pacaya National Park where we will begin our hiking ascent of this famous, active volcano! The hike takes around 2.5 hours and at the top you can see down into the crater to the lava as well as experience the energy of an active volcano. The views from the top of the volcano are also spectacular on a clear day. The way down is fast and we will bike as much as possible. Overnight in Antigua.
Day 4: Bike to Lake Atitlan
Today we transfer and then bike all the way to Lake Atitlan. You will experience riding through glorious Maya mountain villages and beautiful remote highland countryside. In the last portion of the ride you will be able to enjoy magnificent views towards Lake Atitlan and the three volcanoes that surround this prisine lake.
Overnight at Lake Atitlan in a Lakeshore Hotel.
Day 5: Kayak Santiago Bay
This morning you can take off and Kayak on what many have called, “the most beautiful lake in the world”, Lake Atitlan. You will pass by local fishermen, indigenous Maya women doing their washing and men working in the fields wearing their famous embroidered Santiago shorts. After lunch we recommend a visit to the village of Santiago Atitlan, with its lively market and its strange Maya God, “ Maximon” which locals revere and perform rituals in front of to bring good luck – or bad!
Day 6: Bike Alaska
Today we will transfer riders into the unspoilt, remote highland area known as Alaska. This area has some of the most beautiful and spectacular scenery of all Guatemala. Here you can bike in the undisturbed Alaska mountain range on local paths and trails, with views overlooking volcanoes and Lake Atitlan, learn about a local reforestation project and visit remote villages. After a day of biking guests will be transferred to the town of Quetzaltenango. Overnight in Quetzaltenango.
Day 7: Hike Cerro Quemado – A Dormant Volcano
Hike around the spectacular dormant volcano known as “Cerro Quemado” (Burnt Hill), in the heart of the agricultural center of Guatemala. Today guests will enjoy great trails and views of patchwork highland farmlands in an area seldom visited. After having seen the produce in the fields, we will take guests to visit to the vegetable market at Almolonga and Guatemala’s most colorful church in the village of San Andres Xecul. After a packed day we will return to Antigua for a final night in this great colonial city. Overnight in Antigua.
Day 8: Tikal Day Trip
Today you will be picked up for an early morning transfer to Guatemala City airport. Here you will board a plane for the 50min flight into the northern rainforest where they will be met by representatives and transferred to Tikal National Park. Once in the park you will be taken on a collective guided tour of the famous Maya temple site in the jungle. Lunch is included. At around 14:30 guests transfer back to the airport and fly back to Guatemala City where there will be a bus to take you to your hotel and a final night out in Guatemala City.
Overnight in Guatemala City
FOR CLIENTS STAYING ON TO DO A BELIZE TOUR THEY WILL STAY TONIGHT IN THE TIKAL AREA AND THE NEXT DAY WILL TRANSFER INTO BELIZE ON DAY 1 OF THE BELIZE TOUR.
Day 9 = Departure B
This morning we will transfer guests to the airport in plenty of time for their international flight home.