Salamá

The capital of the department of Baja Verapaz, Salamá lies at the bottom of a pretty valley, between the green folds of the Sierra de las Minas and of the Sierra Chuacús, in a region of triopical dry forest. It is mostly an agricultural region, which benefits from mild temperatures, and produces cattle, fish, flowers and fruit and vegetable seeds for export.

The city of Salamá was founded by the Dominicans between 1550 and 1560, during their “pacific conquest” of this central area of Guatemala. Its original name comes from the predominant indigenous language quiché “tzalam já”, board of water, or perhaps “tzalam á”, tranquil river. The Dominican friars built the church of San Mateo, patron saint of the town, and in the 17^th century, established a convent in Salamá to govern the smaller convents of the region, Rabinal, San Miguelito, Cubuilco and others. But after independence, in 1829, General Morazán expelled the religious orders from the state of Guatemala, and secularized their possessions. In 1877, the state of Guatemala divided the region of Verapaz into two departments, Alta and Baja Verapaz, and Salamá became capital of the latter. The population, though it still maintains its strong Maya culture (predominantly Achi’), is still heavily Catholic and religious celebrations are still important. Although it is a departmental head, Salamá is pretty much a small town in a rural region, and market days, Mondays and Fridays, are particularly busy days, as farmers from the entire municipio come to sell their goods.

There are few actual tourist attractions, but Salamá offers good infrastructure if you want to base yourself there to explore the smaller towns nearby or the biological reserves higher up in the cloudforest.

(altitude 940 m, population of the municipio 47,000, urban 20,000)

Neighborhoods in Salamá: Around Salamá,

Other places nearby Salamá: Cobán, Rabinal, Cancuén, Biotopo De Quetzal, Playa Grande, Purulhá and the Corredor Biológico del Bosque Nuboso, Parque Nacional Cuevas de Candelaria, San Rafael Chilascó, Sierra De Las Minas Biosphere Reserve and Parque Nacional Laguna Lachuá.