The water
Bottled water; high-altitude towns can dehydrate you faster than you expect. Tap water: Not drinkable.
Guatemala
Tikal, the towering Classic Maya city rising out of the Peten rainforest
RegionCentral AmericaCurrencyGTQPowerType A/B, 120VTap waterNot drinkable
Strong
Eco Index
What to expect on the ground
At a glance
Food & farming
Guatemala is strongly agricultural, exporting coffee, sugar, bananas and cardamom, while smallholders grow most of the country's own maize and beans through the traditional milpa system. Staple self sufficiency is high even…Read more
Guatemala is strongly agricultural, exporting coffee, sugar, bananas and cardamom, while smallholders grow most of the country's own maize and beans through the traditional milpa system. Staple self sufficiency is high even though grains such as wheat are imported. Forest still covers 32.6% of the land (World Bank, 2023).
Local staples
Maize tortillas, black beans, squash, chillies, plantain and avocado, grown through the milpa system
Markets
Chichicastenango market on Thursdays and Sundays; most highland towns hold a weekly market
In season
Coffee from November to March; maize and beans through the wet season from May to October
Wildlife
Guatemala straddles a biological crossroads, home to the resplendent quetzal, jaguar, Baird's tapir, scarlet macaw and howler monkeys, with notable cloud forest endemism. The Maya Biosphere and the Sierra de las Minas shelter…Read more
Guatemala straddles a biological crossroads, home to the resplendent quetzal, jaguar, Baird's tapir, scarlet macaw and howler monkeys, with notable cloud forest endemism. The Maya Biosphere and the Sierra de las Minas shelter much of this diversity.
Found nowhere else
Resplendent quetzal, Guatemalan black howler and horned guan, with cloud forest endemism in the highlands
Natural phenomena
Dry Nov–Apr; the highlands are cool and the lakes can be moody.
When to go
Dry season, November to April
Getting around
Colourful chicken buses, which are repurposed US school buses, plus tourist shuttles between highland towns
Good to know
Cash-heavy; quetzales. Spanish helps a lot.
Safety
Solo female travel: Take care. LGBTQ+: Low.
Only hereTikal, the towering Classic Maya city rising out of the Peten rainforest
Assessed across 10 equally-weighted pillars
The Eco Index, pillar by pillar
73/100
Strong
The Eco Index: Guatemala
12 pillars, equally weighted, from published sources. All 12 assessed. Blanks mean unverified, never estimated.
Only here Tikal, the towering Classic Maya city rising out of the Peten rainforest
- Forest cover
- 32.6%
- Land protected
- 20.1%
- Sea protected
- 0.81%
- Organic farmland
- 2.3%
- Found nowhere else
- Resplendent quetzal, Guatemalan black howler and horned guan, with cloud forest endemism in the highlands
- Renewable power
- 72%
- CO2 per person
- 1.08 t
- Air quality (AQI)
- 24.07
- Cleanest air
- Highland cloud forests such as the Sierra de las Minas biosphere reserve
- Water from
- Bottled water; high-altitude towns can dehydrate you faster than you expect.
- Tap water
- Not drinkable
- Safe drinking water
- 57%
- Cleanest water
- The limestone pools of Semuc Champey and the rivers of Alta Verapaz
- Springs
- Hot springs at Fuentes Georginas on the flanks of Zunil volcano
- In season
- Coffee from November to March; maize and beans through the wet season from May to October
- Plastic ban
- No national ban; several municipalities restrict single use plastics, led by San Pedro La Laguna in 2016
- Watch out for
- Nickel mining around Lake Izabal and export monoculture such as African palm and sugar, linked to deforestation and water conflict
- Solo female travel
- Take care
- LGBTQ+ acceptance
- Low
- Best months
- November to April
- Getting around
- Colourful chicken buses, which are repurposed US school buses, plus tourist shuttles between highland towns
- Power
- Type A/B, 120V
- Currency
- GTQ
| Pillar | Score | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| WaterWhere the water comes from, and whether there is enough of it | 3/5 | Guatemala is rich in surface water, with hundreds of rivers, the crater lake of Atitlan and Lake Izabal fed by high rainfall, so raw supply is secure. Full assessmentSafety is the weak point, as only about 57% of people have safely managed drinking water (WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2022), rural coverage is far lower and Lake Atitlan suffers recurring cyanobacteria blooms. Tap water is not safe for visitors. |
| Food and farmingWhat the island actually grows, and what arrives by boat | 4/5 | Guatemala is strongly agricultural, exporting coffee, sugar, bananas and cardamom, while smallholders grow most of the country's own maize and beans through the traditional milpa system. Full assessmentStaple self sufficiency is high even though grains such as wheat are imported. Forest still covers 32.6% of the land (World Bank, 2023). |
| Plant based and real foodWhether you can eat unprocessed from local supply | 4/5 | The everyday diet is built on maize tortillas, black beans, squash, chillies, plantain and avocado, an easy and largely whole food plant base. Full assessmentMarkets overflow with fresh produce, so eating unprocessed and plant forward is simple, though meat features at celebrations. |
| OrganicCertified and chemical free growing, which is not the same thing as plant based | 3/5 | About 2.3% of agricultural land is certified organic (FiBL, 2020), placing Guatemala in the middle band. Full assessmentMuch smallholder coffee and cardamom is grown with low inputs even where it is not certified. |
| ConservationWhat is protected, and whether protection is enforced | 3/5 | Protected areas cover 20.1% of the land (World Bank, 2024), anchored by the vast Maya Biosphere Reserve, but only 0.8% of territorial waters are protected (World Bank, 2021). Full assessmentEnforcement is weak, with illegal logging, cattle ranching and fires eating into the reserve, so the headline figure overstates real protection. |
| Wildlife and endemicsWhat lives here and nowhere else on earth | 4/5 | Guatemala straddles a biological crossroads, home to the resplendent quetzal, jaguar, Baird's tapir, scarlet macaw and howler monkeys, with notable cloud forest endemism. Full assessmentThe Maya Biosphere and the Sierra de las Minas shelter much of this diversity. |
| Natural materialsWhat you can eat from and carry here instead of plastic, and who still makes it | 5/5 | Backstrap loom weaving is a living daily craft, with each highland town keeping its own patterns in cotton, ikat (jaspe) and plant dyes. Full assessmentBasketry and maguey fibre work continue alongside it. |
| Pollution and plasticPlastic law and contamination | 2/5 | Air quality is moderate, with a PM2.5 annual mean around 24 micrograms per cubic metre (World Bank, 2017), well above WHO guidance. Full assessmentThere is no national plastic ban, only municipal ones such as San Pedro La Laguna (2016), and the Motagua river is one of the most plastic choked in the world. Open burning of waste is common. |
| Recycling and wasteWhat actually happens to the rubbish once you have thrown it away | 2/5 | There is no comprehensive municipal recycling system and formal recovery rates are low, though an informal sector recovers some metal, glass and plastic. Full assessmentMuch waste is burned or dumped. |
| Energy and climateClean power, carbon emissions per person and the pace of decarbonisation | 4/5 | Guatemala runs one of Central America's lower carbon grids, with renewables supplying roughly half of electricity, led by hydropower at about 36 per cent plus biomass, geothermal, wind and … Full assessmentolar. Per person emissions are very low at 1.08 tonnes of CO2 in 2024. The country has set a goal of 80 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 under its national plans. The score is held below the top band because coal, coke and fuel oil still supply close to a third of generation and have been growing. |
| Culture and peopleIndigenous and living communities, and who the money reaches | 5/5 | Around two in five Guatemalans are indigenous Maya, speaking more than twenty languages, and community run tourism thrives at Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango and among the Caribbean Garifuna. Full assessmentMarkets, weaving cooperatives and homestays keep money with local families. |
| Living heritage and ancestral traditionsNational dance and music, and the ancestral and spiritual traditions still practised | 5/5 | Guatemala carries one of the Americas' deepest living indigenous heritages, rooted in more than twenty Maya peoples. Full assessmentMarimba music accompanies daily life, and traditional dance dramas endure, including the Rabinal Achí, a pre-Hispanic Maya dance drama recognised by UNESCO, the Baile de la Conquista and the Palo Volador. Maya ancestral spirituality remains widely practised through Ajq'ij day-keepers, ceremonies at sacred sites and the 260-day Cholq'ij calendar. Cofradía brotherhoods, living Mayan languages and backstrap loom weaving keep this heritage in everyday use. |
Before you go
Cash-heavy; quetzales. Spanish helps a lot.
Where these figures come from
- World Bank, Forest area (% of land area, AG.LND.FRST.ZS), 2023. source
- World Bank, Terrestrial protected areas (% of land area, ER.LND.PTLD.ZS), 2024. source
- World Bank, Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters, ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS), 2021. source
- Low Carbon Power (Ember data), Guatemala electricity mix, 2023. source
- WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, safely managed drinking water, 2022. source
- World Bank, PM2.5 mean annual exposure (EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3), 2017. source
- FiBL and IFOAM, The World of Organic Agriculture (2020 data). source
- Our World in Data, CO2 emissions country profile (Guatemala), 2024 source
- US International Trade Administration, Guatemala Country Commercial Guide: Energy, 2024 source
- Global Energy Monitor, Energy profile: Guatemala, 2024 source
- UNESCO, Rabinal Achi dance drama tradition, 2008 source
Living heritage and ancestral traditions
The culture still danced, played and believed
Guatemala carries one of the Americas' deepest living indigenous heritages, rooted in more than twenty Maya peoples. Marimba music accompanies daily life, and traditional dance dramas endure, including the Rabinal Achí, a pre-Hispanic Maya dance drama recognised by UNESCO, the Baile de la Conquista and the Palo Volador. Maya ancestral spirituality remains widely practised through Ajq'ij day-keepers, ceremonies at sacred sites and the 260-day Cholq'ij calendar. Cofradía brotherhoods, living Mayan languages and backstrap loom weaving keep this heritage in everyday use.
- Marimba music
- the Rabinal Achí Maya dance drama (UNESCO)
- Baile de la Conquista and the Palo Volador
- Maya ancestral spirituality with Ajq'ij day-keepers and the 260-day Cholq'ij calendar
- cofradía brotherhoods
- living Mayan languages and backstrap loom weaving.
Sleep well, tread lightly
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