Barely on the map

Nebaj is a little town tucked away in the region of Quiche in the Guatemalan altiplano, around 2,000 metres high. It´s part of what´s called the Ixil triangle, which is the name of the local indigeneous population.

This place is remote... In fact, on many maps of Guatemala, Quiche is just one big blank space... Apparently, the Ixil region was virtually unknown to the rest of the country up until the end of the nineteenth century! As a result, the local culture is still pretty strong, for example not everyone speaks spanish or when they do it sounds even funkier than mine...

Market day

This region got it pretty bad during the country´s civil war. Massacres and disappearances were pretty common. For example, in1981, sixty-eight people were massacred  . Army presence can still be seen.

Trekking to the next town over

Kinda looks like Switzerland

Except that there´s a huge pollution and trash problem. Below is the same picture looking down...

I stayed clear of the milk...

Deforestation is also rampant...

...Because a key source of energy is firewood. A huge amount of people, time and energy gets dedicated to wood gathering. Wood smoke and smell is omnipresent...

Especially a job from the local kids...

Still, pretty though

Arriving in Copop, the next village over...

Nebaj also has a cool litle museum. Even though many found pieces just get sold in Antigua to tourists...

Full picture set Here.