NEW! LA RUTA DE MAYA: Guatemala

We'll meet at Guatemala airport and transfer you to the beautiful colonial city of Antigua. You'll have the rest of the day to explore this historical city, with cobblestone streets and citizens dressed in colourful Mayan clothing. Tonight we'll overnight in the San Sebastian hotel, a charming hotel owned by a Mayan family, with antiques adorning the walls and bedrooms.

We'll meet you at your hotel in the morning for breakfast and a pre-trip safety meeting. After our meeting, we'll hop on the bikes and head up to the base of Volcan Agua for our first taste of the local singletrack. Our first ride takes us on technical trails through Mayan farmland, with spectacular views of the valley below. After the ride, we'll head to a local Macadamia nut farm for lunch. After a hearthy lunch we'll head to a local coffee farm to see how coffee is grown and sample a cup or two of the delicious local brew. Tonight we'll have dinner in one of Antigua's many restaurants.

After breakfast at our hotel, we'll head out on bikes to a nearby village, where we'll start the climb to Parramos. The ride takes us alongside volcanoes and through avocado plantations with an exciting singletrack ride to the Posada de mi Abuelo, where we will stop for lunch. After lunch, we'll ride to the nearby community of San Andres de Itzapa, where we'll visit a local school project for Mayan families. As part of our , a portion of your trip cost will go towards purchasing school supplies for the school in San Andres de Itzapa. We'll also visit an innovative bike project called Maya Pedal, that provides refurbished bikes to Mayan communities in need.

Today's ride could very well be one of the most stunning rides in the world. We set out from our hotel for a 1-hour climb to a spectacular viewpoint over Lago de Atitlan (Lake Atitlan). This sapphire-blue lake ringed by volcanoes is among the world's prettiest lakes - our ride takes on a beautiful singletrack ride above the lake before descending through cornfields and narrow alleys in Santa Catarina de Palopo. The van will be waiting for us to take us to our boat ride to the otherworldy Casa del Mundo ("Guatemala's most magical hotel" - Lonely Planet), a boat-accessed hotel built into the side of a cliff. After dinner, we'll soak our muscles in a wood-fired hot tub under the stars.

This magical lake is worthy of another day, so we'll set out from the Casa del Mundo after breakfast in kayaks, for a relaxing 2-hour paddle (along with swimming and cliff jumping) to the village of San Marcos. In San Marcos we'll stop for coffee, then begin the 2-hour hike back to the hotel. Our hike takes us through several traditional Mayan villages, alongside the shore of the lake. We'll be back in time for lunch and a relaxing afternoon at the hotel.

We'll hop in the boat back to Panajachel after breakfast, then head by van to visit another Mayan school project supported by our Responsible Riding mandate. After our visit, we'll drive up to the top of a local mountain to start the demanding slickrock trail - a challenging singletrack ride with many exposed rock sections, similar to Utah's original Slickrock trail. When we fisnish, we'll hop in the van for the 2-hour drive back to Antigua. This time, we'll be staying at the Earth Lodge, an avocado farm 1000m above Antigua, with majestic views of the valley below.

This is one of the top rides in Central America - an all-day epic around Antigua traversing multiple bio-zones: jungle, volcano, farmland. The ride starts with a steep 1-hour climb from the Earth Lodge to the summit. From the summit the ride traverses the sides of the Antigua Valley before dropping spectacularly down into Antigua. We'll celebrate an incredible week at one of Antigua's local restaurants and a few drinks at a famous local tequila bar!

Shuttles depart every hour for Guatemala City and the airport for your flight back home.

1) day hike on Volcan Pacaya: a spectacular day hike on an active volcano, where you can view flowing rivers of lava.
2) 2-day trip to Tikal ruins: visit Tikal, the most impressive of all the Mayan ruins (including the massive Temple of the Jaguar), deep in the heart of the Yucatan jungle. Includes flight, hotels and guides.