Guatemala, whilst still recovering from the psychic wounds of military dictatorships and guerrilla warfare, possesses a gritty determination to keep the glorious colours of the Mayan culture flying. And what a wealth of masts it has to nail them to. Its volcanoes can seem the highest and most active, its Mayan ruins the most ruinous, its colonial cities the most historic, its jungles the most enigmatic and impenetrable, its coral reefs the most beautiful and its flora and fauna some of the most unusual in the world.

Best time to visit

November to May.

Essential experiences

Joining a Spanish-language school in Antigua; spending a day in a hammock on lazy Santa Cruz le Laguna; hiking to the highest point in Central America (Tajumulco Volcano); engaging in a spot of bartering at the Sunday Chichicastenango markets; spending a day at the Mayan ruins at Tikal.

In a few words, Guatemala is

Mayan gods and ruins, colourful masks, cheerfully painted buses, the quetzal, brooding volcanoes, rainforests, corn fields, brilliantly coloured textiles, Mayan trouble dolls, tongue-challenging place names and highly wrought iron crucifixes.

Did you know?

The national passion in Guatemala is for football and it offers some of the cheapest mobile phone charges than anywhere else in the world.