Despite its turmoil, travelers flock to Guatemala because it offers Central America in concentrated form: its volcanoes are the highest and most active, its Mayan ruins the most impressive, its earthquakes the most devastating and its history of repression decidedly world-class.

Guatemala is the Mayan heartland of Central America, though the government has both touted and tortured the Maya - sticking pictures of them on its tourist brochures while sticking guns in their faces. Despite this, indigenous Guatemalan culture is alive and well.

It survives in the ancient ruins of Tikal, the Mayan/Catholic rituals of Chichicastenango and the blazing colors of everyday Mayan dress. Since the peace treaties were signed, inspiring even the least-intrepid travellers to venture beyond the Guatemala City-Antigua corridor, indigenous Guatemala has been rolling out the red carpet to once-isolated and lovely villages with access to some of Central America's wildest natural wonders.

Facts

Full country name: Republic of Guatemala
Area: 108,890 sq km
Population: 13.9 million
People: 56% mestizo/ladino descent, 44% Mayan descent
Language: Spanish; Castilian
Religion: Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Mayan-Catholic fusion
Government: constitutional democratic republic

GDP: US$53.2 billion
GDP per capita: US$3,900
Inflation: 8.1%
Major Industries: Coffee, sugar, bananas, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, natural rubber, flowers, cardamom, tourism

(Bron: www.lonelyplanet.com)