Chichicastenango, a Maya-Quiché town about 30 minutes north of Lake Atitlán, is famed for the Thursday and Sunday markets in its central plaza, where vendors sell textiles and handmade crafts produced throughout Guatemala. The small town is packed with visitors and vendors on these days, but is quieter other days of the week.  
   
 

 

In the Santo Tomás cathedral, built in 1540, Maya worshipers spread pine needles and flowers on the floor amid lit candles to say their prayers. Copal, Guatemala's traditional incense produced from the resin of a native tree, is burned in censors on steps outside the cathedral. Worshippers also visit a pre-Hispanic stone image known as Pascual Abaj, on a hilltop just outside of town.
The town fair, held from December 14 to 21 each year, features a palo volador, a tall pole from the top of which young men spiral down to earth, held by an attached rope, as well as processions and traditional dances accompanied by marimbas. Chichicastenango is one of the few remaining places in Guatemala where the marimba de tecomates, which uses gourds as resonators rather than wooden boxes, is still made and played.
   
     
 

Chichicastenango's great gift to the world is the manuscript of the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya-Quiché. The manuscript, written by an unknown Maya author in the 16th. century, was discovered by Father Francisco Ximénez when he served as priest in Chichicastenango from 1701-3. The Popol Vuh is an extraordinary literary work containing the legends and history of the Maya-Quiché people who live in the area around Chichicastenango.