Sierra de los Cuchumatanes

The Cuchumatanes rise north of Huehuetenango to a broad plateau above three thousand metres, reaching close to three thousand eight hundred at its highest, which makes it the highest non-volcanic ground in Central America. The landscape up there is unlike the rest of the country: open pasture and limestone outcrops, stone walls, scattered pines, sheep, and villages of the Mam and other communities where dress and language mark each town apart. The road climbs steeply from Huehuetenango to a viewpoint at the plateau edge and then runs north across it to Todos Santos and beyond. It is cold, bright and frequently above the cloud filling the valleys below.

History

The name may come from the Mam cuchuj, "to join", and matán, "with superior force", or from the Nahuatl kochmatlán, "place of the parrot hunters". Historians believe the range and the Altos de Chiantla had few permanent residents before the Spanish came, and that people may have planted potatoes there and returned only when needed, though it is not certain whether potatoes reached the mountains before the Spanish (Wikipedia, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes).

Highlights

• The plateau above three thousand metres - open high ground and limestone.
• Stone walls and grazing sheep - the pastoral landscape on top.
• Villages with distinct dress - each town identifiable by its weaving.
• Cloud filling the valleys below - the view from the plateau edge.

When to go

November to April in the dry season; nights are freezing and frost is normal on the plateau. Two to four days to see it properly. Buses run but are slow.

What to expect

It is genuinely cold and visitors arrive underdressed for altitude. Roads are winding and slow, and rough beyond the main routes. Accommodation is basic. Altitude affects people coming up quickly from the coast.

Nearby

Huehuetenango is south; Todos Santos lies on the plateau.

Key facts