El Mirador

The road winds its way out of Chiantla [1] up the vertiginous face of the Cuchumatanes, with the superimposed quilt pattern of corn- and wheat fields upon the countryside transitioning to one of grasses and hearty maguey plants at about 2,700 meters (9,000 feet). At the top of the rise is a lookout point known as El Mirador or La Cumbre (The Summit), from where there are views of Huehuetenango [2] and Guatemala’s impressive volcanic chain to the south.