Chichicastenango

Chichicastenango: church of Santo Tomás

Chichicastenango, town, west-central Guatemala, 6,447 feet (1,965 metres) above sea level. It was a market centre for the Cakchiquel Maya before the Spanish conquest. Chichicastenango still boasts one of the largest markets in Guatemala, serving Indian villages in the neighbouring highlands. It is one of Guatemala’s most-famous tourist spots. On Thursdays and Sundays, Indians market their products in the large central plaza. They worship, in a combination of Indian and Christian elements, in the parish church of Santo Tomás and at El Calvario church, which stand at opposite ends of the plaza. Next to the parish church is a Dominican monastery dating from 1542; in it the Popol Vuh, a well-known Mayan manuscript, was found in 1690. Chichicastenango is on a highway 90 miles (145 km) northwest of Guatemala City. Pop. (2002) 45,549.