The small market town of SAN FRANCISCO EL ALTO overlooks the Quetzaltenango valley from a magnificent hillside setting, and it's worth a visit for the view alone, with the great plateau stretching out below and the cone of Volcán Santa María on the horizon. Another good reason for visiting the village is the Friday market , possibly the biggest in Central America and attended by traders from every corner of Guatemala - many arrive the night before, and some start selling by candlelight as early as 4am. Throughout the morning a steady stream of buses and trucks fill the town to bursting; by noon the market is at its height, buzzing with activity.

The town is set into the hillside, with steep cobbled streets connecting the different levels. Two areas in particular are monopolized by specific trades. At the very top is an open field used as an animal market , where everything from pigs to parrots changes hands. The teeth and tongues of animals are inspected by the buyers, and at times the scene degenerates into a chaotic wrestling match, with pigs and men rolling in the dirt. Below this is the town's plaza, dominated by textiles. On the lower level, the streets are filled with vegetables, fruit, pottery, furniture, cheap comedores, and plenty more. These days most of the stalls deal in imported denim, but under the arches and in the covered area opposite the church you'll find a superb selection of traditional cloth. For a really good photographic angle and for views of the market and the surrounding countryside, pay the church caretaker a quetzal and climb up to the church roof . By early afternoon the numbers start to thin out, and by sunset it's all over - until the following Friday.

There are plenty of buses from Quetzaltenango to San Francisco, 16km away, leaving every twenty minutes or so from the rotunda; the first is at 6am, and the last bus back leaves at about 5pm (45min).