|
Lanquín
 Northeast of Cobán, a rough, badly maintained road heads off northeast into the hills, connecting a string of coffee fincas. The road soon drops down into rich land as the valleys open out - their precipitous sides are patched with cornfields, but the level central land is saved for the all-important coffee bushes. As the bus lurches along, clinging to the sides of the ridges, there are fantastic views of the valleys below.
The road divides after 43km at the Pajal junction, three hours from Cobán, where one branch turns north to Sebol and Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas and the other cuts down deep into the valley to LANQUÍN , 12km away, a very sleepy, modest Q'eqchi' village superbly sheltered beneath towering green hills. Don't count on practising your Spanish here - the language has yet to gain much influence. Of the village's several pensiones , the good, cheap hospedaje-cum-store-cum-comedor Divina Providencia (up to US$5) is the best, offering good grub, steaming hot showers and the only cold beers in town. The clapboard rooms are comfortable enough, though you'll probably get to know all about your neighbours' nocturnal habits. More luxurious is the Hotel El Recreo (tel 952 2160, fax 952 2333; US$15-25) on the entrance-road to the village, with a choice of rooms in wooden huts, a restaurant and a pool. There is electricity only between 6pm and 9pm, though, and prices rise at weekends. Perhaps the best place to stay, however, is El Retiro ( elretirolodge@hotmail.com ; US$5-10), a ten-minute walk from the village along the road to Cahabón. This wonderful English/Q'eqchi'-owned lodge has palm leaf-thatched cabañas with mosquito screens and hammocks by the Lanquín river, plus camping . There's a camp fire and music most nights, and the owners run tours to sights in the region.
A couple of kilometres from the village on the road back to Cobán are the Lanquín caves (US$1.30), a maze of dripping, bat-infested chambers, stretching for at least 3km underground. An illuminated walkway complete with ladders and chains cuts through the first few hundred metres, but it's very slippery so take care. It's also well worth dropping by at dusk when thousands of bats emerge from the mouth of the cave and flutter off into the night. A small car park near the entrance to the caves has a covered shelter where you're welcome to camp or sling a hammock.
|
