Guide to Exploring Chichicastenango’s Indigenous Market & Culture

Chichicastenango holds one of Guatemala’s oldest and most vibrant markets every Thursday and Sunday. Indigenous women dress in their villages’ unique, colorful textiles and speak K’iche’, the local Maya dialect. This guide to exploring Chichicastenango’s indigenous market and culture includes insider tips on the best parts of the market, the top things to do in town, and options for accommodation. Check out more travel guides to Guatemala, including how to get to Chichicastenango from Antigua or Lake Atitlan.

While people say Chichicastenango has the biggest market in Central America, you can leisurely walk through it within an hour. Many people arrive at 9 AM and leave at 2 PM with plenty of time to kill in between. If you’re a 1-1.5 hour drive from Chichicastenango, I recommend visiting on a market day to experience local indigenous culture. As for the shopping, the market’s great for traditional blouses, but otherwise, you’ll find a more diverse selection of quality souvenirs in Antigua or Lake Atitlan. The town is best as a day trip, but if you’re heading farther north after, then it’s a good place to spend the night.

The streets on market day are filled with vendors selling everything from colorful produce to traditional textiles and ceremonial masks. Don’t miss these top spots for ambiance, art, and people watching:

Santo Tomás Church was built in the mid-16th century on top of a pre-Columbian temple platform. The church blends Catholic and Maya traditions, reflecting the unique syncretism in Guatemala’s indigenous regions. The steps leading up to the church, where ancient rituals are performed, symbolize the days of the Maya calendar. There, the K’iche’ pray and burn copal resin incense. They believe the smoke carries their prayers upward to the gods. Inside, locals leave offerings for their ancestors and Maya deities.

Chichicastenango’s cemetery is filled with vibrantly painted tombs. Traditionally, the colors have different meanings—white for purity, turquoise for protection, and yellow for the sun. The cemetery is a sacred site where families honor ancestors. Some tombs also serve as altars for Maya priests’ fire ceremonies. Burial rituals are an important part of K’iche’ culture. They believe that a body must be properly buried for the dead to cross over to the afterlife and be able to communicate with the living through dreams.

Visiting the market, church, and cemetery are the highlights of Chichicastenango. If you have more time, check out the small regional archeological museum (Museo Arqueológico). It houses a former Catholic priest’s private collection of artifacts. Nearby is Galeria Maya Pop Wuj, a gallery featuring the indigenous art of two brothers. The brothers are Daykeepers or spiritual leaders responsible for maintaining and interpreting the sacred Maya calendar. They offer consultations on Maya astrology, divination readings, and perform fire ceremonies. Uphill from the gallery is the Museo De Máscaras Ceremoniales, where you can learn about the masks on display through a guided tour. At the top of the hill is Pascual Abaj, a shrine for the Maya earth god. Worshippers leave offerings and perform spiritual ceremonies there.

Your best options for accommodation in Chichicastenango are Hotel Museo Mayan Inn and Santo Tomas Hotel. Both are inside lovely colonial-style buildings with old-world decor, classic wooden furnishings, and antiques. Rooms are wrapped around a picturesque open-air courtyard, and breakfast is included in the room rate. Museo Mayan Inn costs about $90/night, while Santo Tomas Hotel is around $120/night and also has a swimming pool. I don’t recommend the Santo Tomas Hotel for two reasons. It’s where tourist shuttles pick up and drop off on market days, so the hotel fills with tourists blocking the entrance and waiting around in the courtyard. They also have endangered macaw birds as pets on display, where they’re subjected to the whims of tourists trying to touch and take pictures with them.