As if nature had painted herself, so is the extraordinary landscape offered by this natural bridge or stone platform, where springs and crystalline lagoons reflect the turquoise color of its waters. Las Verapaces (Alta y Baja Verapaz) is the perfect region to come closer with nature and enjoy the amazing forms of its splendid topography. Semuc Champey is one of the best jewels of nature, in Alta Verapaz.

Its name derives from q'eqchi', and it means: hidden in the depths of the stone.

To visit this place you must first arrive to the city of Cobán and then go to Carchá.

The road signals will lead you all the way to Lanquín, were you will find Semuc.

For the next three hours the road is not paved. A four wheel drive vehicle is suggested. As you start entering this beautiful place you can enjoy the landscape, which rapidly changes, offering a colorful and altering topography, sometimes splashed by the whitening of the wild lilies. The mist and occasional rains will accompany you in your journey.

In Lanquín you can buy your supplies, even though is better if you bring everything from your point of departure, because being a rural community you will only find the essential. A half an hour more and you will find this Protected Natural Reservoir. A one way strengthen bridge is the first one to welcome you, as well as butterflies of intense blue tones that dance to the compass of the Cahabón River whispers.

This ecological site has an extension of nine square kilometers. It offers the visitors a nice climate with an average temperature of 26 degrees Celsius and high atmosphere humidity.

This reservoir belongs to the area of the basin of the Cahabon River, who is the master and creator of the highlands of Sierra de Chamá, and highlights its presence in this emerald region. The river is surrounded by forests of liquidambar and pines.

The river has tributary gorges and other flows, but its power increases as it receives the minor rivers, until arriving at the passage of Semuc. In there it originates in an open grotto in front of its river-bed. Three hundred meters on front it reappears forming waterfalls with intense colors. The beauty of the landscape is completed with the group of ponds in the limy terrain, spread out in intervals or steps, with crystalline waters of different tones from emerald green to turquoise blue, were you can swim without any worries. The biggest one has a width of 20 meters and is two meters depth.

A ride through the forest. Inside the rainy forest this site is ideal to enjoy the exuberant beauty of its surroundings. The area is jealously protected by the resource-guards, so it is absolutely necessary to follow the recommendations before entering. Bring your food and follow the indications.

For those who want to camp, the place is perfect to relax between the natural symphony of the water, the wind that touches the trees, and the thickness of the forest. The landscape is completed by grottos, drains, springs, residual hills and the ponds. All of this on the back of the steep and depth valley patterned by the forces of the Cahabón River.

Sumergido en el bosque lluvioso el sitio es ideal para disfrutar de la exuberante belleza del entorno. El área es protegida celosamente por los guardarrecursos, por lo que es preciso seguir las recomendaciones antes de ingresar. Lleva tus alimentos y sigue las indicaciones.

El sitio es ideal para relajarse entre la sinfonía natural del agua, el viento que roza las copas de los árboles y la espesura del bosque que cobija a los que desean acampar. Completan el paisaje cavernas, sumideros, manantiales, cerros residuales y esas pozas escalonadas. Todo ello al fondo del profundo y abrupto valle labrado por la fuerza del río Cahabón.

Historias y leyendas se entretejen en este escenario magnífico, y se conservan de manera oral gracias a la memoria de los habitantes de las comunidades cercanas.

Para los amantes de la naturaleza, el lugar es ideal para conocer la flora nativa entre las que destacan el cerezo, naranjo, ramón blanco, palo gusano, palo sangre guarumo, ceiba y pino petén.

Semuc ofrece a todo el que lo visita un espacio ecológico completo en el que se mezcla el misticismo de un lugar lleno de encanto con la fuerza de la naturaleza, que a través de miles de a–os ha sido espléndida para modelar uno de los más bellos escenarios de Guatemala.

Anchored in the legends

History and legends are mixed in this magnificent scenery, preserved by oral means thanks to the memory of the inhabitants of nearby communities.

For the nature lovers, the place is ideal to meet the native flora, standing out the cherry tree, orange tree, white browse, worm tree, sangre guarumo tree, ceiba and Peten's pine.

Semuc offers the visitors a complete ecological space with a mix of mysticism in a place fill with the charm of nature's forces that for thousand of years have been splendid and have shaped one of Guatemala's most beautiful sceneries.