A few kilometres southeast of Cobán, easily reached by regular local buses from the terminal, SAN JUAN CHAMELCO is the most important Q'eqchi' settlement in the area. Most of your fellow bus passengers are likely to be women dressed in traditional costume, wearing beautiful cascades of old coins for earrings, and speaking Q'eqchi' rather than Spanish. Chamelco's focal point is a large colonial church , whose facade is rather unexpectedly decorated with twin Mayanized versions of the Hapsburg double eagle - undoubtedly a result of the historic German presence in the region. Inside the belfry is hidden the village's most significant treasure, a church bell that was given to the Maya leader Juan Matalbatz by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The best time to visit the village is for its annual fiesta , on June 16. Participants in the wild processions dress up in a variety of outfits, including pre-Conquest Maya costumes and representations of local wildlife, in celebration of the local Q'eqchi' culture and environment.

Just outside Chamelco are the Grutas de Rey Marcos (daily 9am-5pm; US$3 including the services of a guide, plus hard hat and boot rental), a kilometre-long series of caves, though the tour only takes you a little way into the complex - you have to wade across an underground river at one stage to see some of the best stalactites and stalagmites, including one that's a dead ringer for the leaning tower of Pisa. The caves are a pleasant five-kilometre walk from Chamelco down a signposted road 150m west of the plaza; alternatively you can catch a pick-up from 0 C and 0 Av heading for the village of Chamíl. Just 500m from the caves is a great place to stay , Don Jerónimo's (tel 308 2255, www.dearbrutus.com/donjeronimo ; US$15-25 for full board), a vegetarian guesthouse/retreat in sublime countryside, run by a friendly American who has been living off the land here for a good twenty years.