:::Huehuetenango::: (highlands)
Huehuetenango is a city in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The population was about 88,600 people at the end of 2003*. The city is located at 15°32'N 91°47'W, 269 km from Guatemala City. Mountains and correspondingly impressive landscapes. The central plaza of the city of the same name is the hub for every conceivable activity in the department. In the Huehue (way-way) capital there is a 30 square meter relief map. The department is also home to one of the only three remaining temples of Minerva in Guatemala. These curious structures were the result of a dictator’s (1857-1923) attempt to establish a cult of Minerva in the country. The name Huehuetenango means “City of the Ancients”. In addition to Spanish, residents may speak mam, canjobal, poptí, chuj, awakateco, tektiteco, akateco or ixil.

:::Quiché::: (highlands)
El Quiché is a department of Guatemala. El Quiché department is in the heartland of the Quiché people, to the north-west of Guatemala City. The capital is Santa Cruz del Quiché. Also in the department is the town of Chichicastenango and the ruins of Gumarcaj.Quiché boasts a wide range of climates with the highlands usually temperate to cold, humid to arid. In the areas tending down towards lower altitudes the climate can become hot and humid. There are many churches from colonial days and also the Utatlan archaeological site, originally called Gumarcaj. In Chichicastenango there is a colonial church whose construction began in 1540 under Dominican priests. It was in this church’s convent that the Popul Vuh (Community or Council Book), the sacred book of the Quiches was preserved and re-discovered. The Cerro Turcaj is another frequently-visited site where the God of the World is worshipped, named Pascual Abaj (Sacrifice Stone). Chichicastenango is one of the many small towns where one can appreciate the religious faith of the descendents of the Maya in original form. Pachalum is the newest of the department’s 21 municipalities. It is located 74 kilometers from the capital and 86 from the department seat. The town of Uspantán is located in the heart of the Cuchumatan mountains.

:::San Marcos::: (highlands)
offers the riverfront beaches of the Suchiate and el Naranjo and the smaller Ixiama, Shula, Mopa and Cabuz rivers with areas set aside for authorized hunting and fishing; the waterfalls known as Lagrimas de la Cruz (Tears of the Cross); the Guatemex Forest and the el Sitio and Danilo Lopez swimming areas The la Castalia caves and waterfalls are open to visitors as well as the Cerro de Cer-chil, Extaje y Buena Vista look-out points. Rio Blanco is home to the Tres Chorros (Three Currents) and the Cataratas del Agua Tibia (Warm Water Waterfalls). The Cueva del Negro (Cave of the Black) is in Tacana along with the Piedra Movediza (Trembling Rock) and the Tacana volcano. Tajumulco and Tacaná, the highest peaks in Central America round out the list of volcanoes. Mam and Sipakapense are spoken in addition to Spanish. There are over 70 known archaeological sites in the department.

:::Momostenango::: (highlands)
Momostenango is a municipality in the Totonicapán department of Guatemala.Momostenango is the birthplace of the Maya K'iche' poet Humberto Ak'abal (1952- ), who writes in K'iche' (Quiché) and in Spanish.
Momostenango is honeycombed with thermal waters such as Palá, El Barranco, Salitre and Paxeyú, and the famous Riscos (cliffs) de Momostenango, which were declared a national park in 1955. At present, because of increasing erosion the public is not admitted. It used to be known as "Chuimekená" or "chuimekenyá", which means “place of hot water.”

:::Quetzaltenango::: (highlands)
Quetzaltenango is the second most populous city of Guatemala, after Guatemala City. It is both the capital of Quetzaltenango Department and the municipal seat of Quetzaltenango municipality.
In 2005 it had an estimated population of 300,000. The population is about 50% indigenous or Amerindian, 49% Mestizo or ladino, and 1% other. Quetzaltenango is located in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,333 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level.
n Pre-Columbian times Quetzaltenango was a city of the Mam Maya people called Xelajú, the name derived from "Xe laju' noj" meaning "under ten mountains". The city was said to already be over 300 years old when the Spanish first arrived. Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado defeated and killed Maya ruler Tecún Umán here. When Alvarado conquered the city for Spain in the 1520s, he called it by the Nahuatl name used by his Central Mexican Indian allies, "Quetzaltenango", generally considered to mean "the place of the quetzal bird". Quetzaltenango became the city's official name in colonial times. However, many people (especially, but not only, the indigenous population) continue to call the city "Xelajú" (pronounced shay-lah-WHO) or more commonly Xela for short, and some proudly, but unofficially, consider it the "capital of the Mayas".
From 1838 to 1840 Quetzaltenango was capital of the state of Los Altos, one of the states or provinces of the Federal Republic of Central America. As the union broke up, the army of Guatemala under Rafael Carrera conquered Quetzaltenango making it again part of Guatemala.
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