The most populous country in the Central America
The country of the Maya people, surprisingly with active volcanoes, which frequently erupt, causing landslides and earthquakes. It has 2 international airports, one in the capital and in Flores.
Capitals
1776-current: Guatemala City
1541-1776: Antigua
1527-1541: Ciudad Vieja
1525-1527: Tecpán
Famous places
Lake Atitlán – the deepest lake in Central America, surrounded by 3 volcanoes and 11 towns/villages. Cinque Terre of Guatemala.
Antigua – the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture
Tikal (Flores) – one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization
Semuc Champey – park with a series of turquoise pools and caves, a popular swimming attraction.
Etymology
The name “Guatemala” comes from Nahuatl Cuauhtēmallān, “place of many trees“, a translation of Mayan K’iche’. This was the name the Tlaxcaltecan soldiers who accompanied Pedro de Alvarado during the Spanish Conquest gave to this territory.
People
Along with Bolivia, country in the New World with biggest indigenous population
56% Ladino (mix of mestizo or hispanicized peoples)
42% Mayan
2% Xinca (non-Mayan indigenous people of Mesoamerica)