The next stop in our Guatemala adventure is the town of Quetzaltenango, also known as Xela (sheh-lah), since its original name in the Kʼicheʼ Maya language was Xelajú Noj.
We wanted to come here for another slice of authenticity. Basically, we’ve heard that although Antigua Guatemala (Old Guatemala city) and the towns around Lake Atitlan are stunning and not to be missed, they are very touristy. So we thought we’d try and balance this by throwing in a couple of lesser frequented destinations, like Cobán and here in Xela.
Plus it was relatively easy to get here, as I’d read on the “Backpacking Guatemala” Facebook group that there was a new direct bus route from Coban to Xela, and then onwards to Lake Atitlan from there was supposed to be easy too.
We set off from Cobán at 5am, super super early, I did not like waking up at 4:30am, but it ended up being worth it… We walked from our AirBnB to the central park where there were many microbuses waiting to leave to various parts of the country.
“SHEHLAH!! SHEEEEELLLLAAAAHHHH!!!” Was what we were listening out for, and yes there was someone shouting this very loudly, the last bus in the line, and brand new by the looks of things!
We left at about 5:15am and started the 8-hour journey! The drive was incredible… This early in the morning the mountains were still enveloped in cloud, and the sun was rising behind us, making the mountains look even grander and mysterious in the early morning low light.
The first couple of main stops were Chicaman and Uspantan, and we really liked the look of these towns, both in the valley surrounded by mountains, I think if we come back we’d like to spend some time in this region as it was very beautiful.
After that the scenery started to change, from lush green cloud forest jungle, to more alpine and dryer mountain forests. The mountains also got a bit tamer too, but as we neared our destination they rose again… Xelajú means “Under the Ten Mountains” and Noj means “great” or “important,” and that’s just how we felt as we drove on the stunning roads. There were beautiful and “great” mountains everywhere we looked – including several cone-shaped volcanoes!
We eventually arrived, exhausted from the travel and very squished, as along the journey the bus filled up to maximum and there ended up being very little space! Still we arrived safely and checked into Kasa Kiwi Hostel in the centre of town.
We grabbed a little vegan empanada/pancake from a local Taiwanese street food stall, which was absolutely delicious! Then had a bit of a nap, before heading out to a place called Xela Green for tea.
By this point Dave was starting to feel a bit under the weather, and actually by that evening had quite a high fever, chills and was not feeling great at all. We think it was just a normal travellers sickness. So rest, paracetamol and lots of dioralyte were in order!!
He ended up being unwell for most of our time in Xela, which was a shame as we’d (mostly Dave) wanted to hike one of the local active volcanoes, and I’d wanted to visit a local birding hotspot about an hour away. In the end, Dave spent most of the time in the room in bed, trying to recover, and I only nipped out to explore locally – the main square, some coffee shops and bakeries etc., and to eat or restock on liquids for Dave.
Despite not ending up seeing that much of the city, I did really like it. The main park square is very pretty, with a huge cathedral and colonial administrative buildings.
My favourite bakery I found was called Xelapan which seemed like an absolute institution here, it was so busy and everyone gets their own personal basket to fill with cakes, pastries and breads, and some people’s were stacked high with so many!!
We were here for weekend, and it seems a lot of locals were enjoying the bakery and the central park, and I hardly saw any other tourists the whole day.
Then that evening whilst walking back from having dinner, I stumbled upon a religious procession, apparently it happens every year, on the 3rd Sunday of Lent (which was today!). It’s called Semana Santa procession, and lots of people walk the streets in traditional religious clothing, with men carrying an altar and effigy of the virgin Mary. There was a marching band following them playing music too, which was very good, echoing in the narrow streets. I phoned Dave and told him I was just near the hotel and if he was well enough, he should drag himself out of bed just briefly to see it, it was worth it, and he just managed to catch it, which was perfect!!
On our second day, Dave started to feel a little better, the fever had completely gone now, but he still wasn’t 100%, so we decided to stay local.
I took him to Xelapan to get some amazing breakfast then we visited Cerro El Baul, just 5 minutes in a taxi from the centre, it’s a hill overlooking the city which is like a micro cloud forest. We expected to enjoy walking in the forest, have good views of the city and maybe see some birds (if we are lucky – according to ChatGPT), but with it being so close to the city centre, we didn’t have high expectations…
We started the trail and decided to take the road instead of the path as the incline wasn’t as steep. This ended up being a great idea as the roadside bushes were where we saw the best birds!
The number one bird I’d hoped to see in the region was the pink headed warbler, they are endemic to this region of Guatemala only, and are not super common. I’d also read they are shy and skittish, but I showed Dave a pic before we set off with the idea of “keep your eye out for this”.
About 10 minutes into the trail he shouts me over, “Lib that bird you wanted to see is here!“… I actually didn’t believe him at first and thought he must have seen one similar or something, but as I got to where he pointed, there it was!!! The cutest little warbler I’ve ever seen! Definitely not shy, there were a few of them, and they got so close to us!! Not bothered by us at all!
They were foraging and chasing insects in a mixed group, so there were also golden browed, yellow rumped, crescent chested, Wilson’s and Tennessee Warblers too. As well as a few redstarts, with their fanned tails. They were all so cute and pretty, moving together in a mixed flock through the bushes.
After watching them for a while, we continued up the road to the viewpoint, literally walking through clouds along the way.
It was too cloudy and hazy at the top for a great view, but still it was nice. Then we walked back down back to the town, but down the hiking path this time.
On the path between the taller trees we saw even more birds, unicoloured jays, blue and white mockingbirds, band-backed wrens (building a nest), golden-olive woodpeckers… Then once again Dave spots something in the trees… “What’s that with the long tail?“…
It was a Motmot… again! This time the blue-throated Motmot, one of my absolute FAVOURITE birds, but it flew away just as I went to take a photo ☹️ still I enjoyed watching it through the binoculars first.
Then, to top it all off, I spotted a mountain trogon in the tree next to the Motmot! I did manage a very classic trogon pic (they are good at hiding!).
What a day, we’d only come here because it was nearby, easy and quick, whilst Dave was still recovering etc., and we ended up seeing almost every species we would have wanted to see at the mega bird place here… I was so happy!!
It was a shame we couldn’t really enjoy Xela as much as we wanted to, but that’s just travel in a nutshell… I don’t know anyone who’s managed to not get ill whilst backpacking, it’s pretty much the only thing that’s guaranteed! Haha. So when you do get ill, you just have to accept it and do your best to not worry about being away from home, and try to rest and recover without feeling sad about missing a few days.
Who knows, perhaps we’ll come back to Guatemala one day and try this area again, as it was beautiful with the volcanoes and mountains, unique birds, and authentic culture, with the women all wearing traditional skirts and carrying bags on their heads. And we barely saw another tourist, apart from in our hostel. I think we would come back here for sure 😊
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