Guatemala

Photo: Tourists climb Pyramid II

Tourists climb Pyramid II to reach the Temple of the Masks in the Maya city of Tikal.

Photograph by David Hiser/Getty Images

One of the most beautiful countries of Central America, south of Mexico and north and west of Honduras, Guatemala offers forested mountains, glimmering lakes, exotic birdlife. • The Maya make up more than half the country's population, and Mayan languages are spoken along with Spanish, the official tongue. • Maya ruins dot the landscape, drawing tourists, archaeologists, and anthropologists. • A four-decade civil war that pitted Maya insurgents against the country's army left many thousands dead. • Today, poverty plagues the countryside in particular, and crime remains a problem.

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