Turquoise pools in the jungle — the most beautiful natural wonder in Guatemala
Semuc Champey is a natural limestone bridge 300m long, over which the Cahabón River flows — but underneath the bridge, the river drops into a series of deep caves, while above the bridge a series of turquoise stepped pools have formed over the limestone, creating a jewel-like series of natural swimming pools in the middle of the Q'eqchi' Maya jungle. It is widely considered the most beautiful natural site in Guatemala, accessible only by a rough road from the town of Lanquín, which keeps it less crowded than it deserves to be. Candlelit tubing through the caves beneath the pools is one of Cen…
The area around Semuc Champey has been inhabited by the Q'eqchi' Maya people for thousands of years, and the limestone landscape of the Alta Verapaz region (of which this is part) was largely outside Spanish colonial control until the 19th century — the Spanish called it 'Tezulutlán' (land of war) because the indigenous population resisted conquest so effectively that the Spanish ceded the territory to Dominican priests, who renamed it Verapaz ('true peace'). The Q'eqchi' communities around Lanquín have managed tourism to Semuc Champey as a community enterprise, which has kept the site sustai…