On a clear day Hobbitenango is picture perfect. It's a short ride (without traffic) from the historic capital of Guatemala, Antigua. We loved this area so much we came here twice, once on an ATV tour and again to spend a few hours at Hobbitenango, a tourist trap with an amazing view.
This cat has it good living in Hobbiton. People come here to eat, relax and take photos. We always travel with cat treats so she was paid for her services. Hobbitenango is an eco park, restaurant and hotel in the countryside, if you're in the area I recommend stopping by, especially on an ATV tour.
People come to take photos on the hand, from this angle it's not impressive but from the hand it looks like a giant is holding you up in the clouds. With Volcanos and hills in the background it makes for a nice souvenir.
We were able to see plenty of views from the ATV paths or treacherous roads through the highlands. One gets filthy doing ATV tours so if you're trying to get nice photos of yourself don't take the dirt roads on the way up.
Smoke from Guatemala city, fires from farmers burning brush and volcanoes can cause the sky to go from blue to hazy in minutes. Enjoy the clean weather when it's available. A clear sky in these parts is nothing short of impressive.
The highlands of Guatemala are heavily populated, villages and farms dot the countryside where ever it's possible to build. There are frequent mudslides and roads get washed out which is a significant cause of the traffic. On weekends, everyone wants to leave Guatemala city to go to places like Antigua which makes things ten times worse.
Our ATV tour started with a visit to a coffee plantation on the edge of Antigua. Coffee grows best at a certain altitude which the Guatemalan highlands are perfect for. The Volcanic soil makes the acidity just right. Guatemala produces a lot of coffee for chains like Starbucks. In the photo above they are drying the beans, in the photo below they are washing them to take out the worst of the bitterness.
One can sit around, drink coffee and listen to how it's made but we just wanted a few photos, a sip and to get out. The sell coffee all over and one can only drink so much caffeine. There are also a few Cacao plantations you can visit and colourful markets to explore. We usually get our souvenirs at the grocery store as it's cheaper.
We swapped our ATVs for a Gator to get up to the top of a mountain. There was supposed to be an amazing view but unfortunately we were above the clouds and couldn't see much of anything. The ride was the fun part.
This was on private property so they didn't want people driving ATVs here and some of the roads were quite dangerous so they ask for ones experience. We had a private tour with just us and a guide so nothing held us back. The cost was under $100 for over 4 hours which was pretty good considering it included admission to a few spots.
As you can see the view isn't always amazing. Someone wanted to build a hotel up here but ran out of money or they are taking their time, so it was just a big platform up in the clouds. They were sort of shocked we didn't want to stay longer but there wasn't much to see. It would have been incredible on a clear day but one can't always be lucky. Thanks for reading and have a great week!
All photos were taken with an s22 and are unfiltered.