This is another of our exciting family adventures in Guatemala. This time my husband and I decided that we wanted to visit Semuc Champey and the Lanquin Caves. For that we had to stay in the nearby town of Cobn. Cobn is a beautiful town located in the Alta Verapaz Department of Guatemala. It is located 1320 meters above sea level so it gets a bit chilly at night. It is also one of the major coffee producers of the country. Plus it is located among mountains and forests that guard one of Guatemala’s treasures: the Monja Blanca Orchid. (this country’s national flower).

It is also the place where the famous Rabin Ahau takes place in july. This is a beauty contest. But this is not a reagular beauty contest, it is a bit different of what we are used to. In it native Guatemalan women wear their typical dresses and perform a series of presentations that include talking in their mayan language and dancing traditional marimba songs. By the way Rabin Ahau means daughter of the king.

As our accommodations we chose a tiny but beautiful hotel called Casa Duranta. It’s not luxurious, it’s not a super famous resort but it is beautiful, has gorgeous gardens and the rooms are very private. I really enjoyed staying in it.

Before going to Semuc Champey and Lanquin we decided that we wanted to get to know the town a little bit better so we spent our first day in Coban walking along the town. We ended up getting to this town’s central park which I have to admit looks a lot better than I thought. There are also many beautiful handcrafts stands all over the place. There is also a small but informative and filled with interesting mayan artifacts museum called Principe Maya Archaeological Museum.

The next morning before we started our adventure to the main touristic spots of the region we went to another nearby hotel called La posada for a lovely breakfast.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, has been living in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. Traveling with her family to all parts of Costa Rica and Guatemala, she now loves organizing vacations for people and offers first hand experience. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

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