Chimaltenango

Chimaltenango on the map of Guatemala

Chimaltenango is a town in Guatemala and the administrative center of the department of Chimaltenango and the greater community of the same name (Municipio ), which extends to 212 km ² and 40,000 inhabitants.

Location and climate

The city is located about 55 kilometers west of Guatemala City in the central highlands of the Sierra Madre at about 1,800 m. You can reach Chimaltenango on the Interamerican Highway (CA 1 ), which was developed between Guatemala City and Chimaltenango to the highway. In Chimaltenango, the port is the expressway to Antigua Guatemala.

The climate in Chimaltenango and the surrounding area is temperate to cold. The rainy season lasts from May to October.

Economy and Tourism

Chimaltenango lives mainly from agriculture, the crafts ( brickyards of El Tejar ) and the service sector. The city benefits from the rain through traffic and is considered as a trading center. Bars, simple restaurants, repair shops and service stations dominate the economic life. At a fountain in the central park of the watershed between the Atlantic and Pacific region runs. In the vicinity is the water park Balneario Los Aposentos which is often visited on weekends by families from the capital. A little further west, which was founded by the Franciscans place Tecpán, you can visit the former Cakchiquel capital Iximché. Chimaltenango is touristy in the shadow of Antigua Guatemala.

History

Chimaltenango was founded in 1526 by Pedro de Portocarrero, a son of Pedro de Alvarado, on the site of the former Cakchiquel Fortress Bocob. According to early Spanish planning a capital city should arise here, but then abandoned in favor of what one of Antigua. Mexican mercenaries Alvarado gave the city the Nahuatl name Chimaltenango, which means " place of the coat of arms ."

Chimaltenango was completely destroyed by a major earthquake in 1976.