Pascual Abaj
Pascual Abaj
4
About
This ancient and sacred shrine is lavished with offerings of food, candles and the occasional live chicken. It is hoped that these gifts, accompanied by prayer, will bring prosperity and good luck.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Pascual Abaj and nearby attractions
The area
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
25 within 3 miles
Attractions
5 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
38 reviews
Excellent
17
Very good
12
Average
6
Poor
1
Terrible
2
guatemejor
Tikal National Park, Guatemala63 contributions
Mar 2020
This hil is allways a surprise,you never know what are you going to witness when you climb,all sort of important ceremonies ar proform here.To climb this hill you have to be in fairly good shape,also be interested on the subject other wise it wont be of any importance to you.
I s a great mayan rituals proform here and it shows the grea past of the Maya.
I s a great mayan rituals proform here and it shows the grea past of the Maya.
Written 11 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NickiandNolan
Ann Arbor, MI131 contributions
Mar 2011 • Couples
Chichi has a famous Thursday and Sunday market where Mayan people from all over the area come to sell their artisan products, food, produce, flowers and more. We had heard it was worth it to get a guide at the local INGUAT tourism office, so that’s what we did. The INGUAT office is hard to find so you’ll just have to ask around once you’re in the market, it’s somewhere in the center. We didn’t have to arrange anything in advance, just showed up and the woman at the office called a guide who arrived in 5 minutes or less. He spoke in Spanish. We didn’t ask for the tour in English at the office so someone else might have been available.
He didn’t really show us the market (which didn’t need much showing), but instead took us to the municipality, church and shrine Pascual Abaj on the hill outside of town to teach us more about Mayan spiritual practices, all of which was awesome. He also took us to an off-the-beaten-track mask shop where we bought a real wooden mask used in Mayan ceremonies. It was better than what we would have gotten in the market, and we bartered down the price, but it was still expensive and it was obvious the guide had a deal with the store owner to bring people by. The only shocker was at the end of the trip. The lady at the office had suggested Q.30-50 for a few hour tour. The guide at the end then asked for Q.250-300. We gave him Q.150 and he seemed a little upset. We weren’t really sure who was right. The tour was great, just negotiate the price beforehand.
He didn’t really show us the market (which didn’t need much showing), but instead took us to the municipality, church and shrine Pascual Abaj on the hill outside of town to teach us more about Mayan spiritual practices, all of which was awesome. He also took us to an off-the-beaten-track mask shop where we bought a real wooden mask used in Mayan ceremonies. It was better than what we would have gotten in the market, and we bartered down the price, but it was still expensive and it was obvious the guide had a deal with the store owner to bring people by. The only shocker was at the end of the trip. The lady at the office had suggested Q.30-50 for a few hour tour. The guide at the end then asked for Q.250-300. We gave him Q.150 and he seemed a little upset. We weren’t really sure who was right. The tour was great, just negotiate the price beforehand.
Written 30 July 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheBs
Washington, DC370 contributions
Jul 2016 • Family
This was our second visit to the Pascual Abaj. Through the Pascual Abaj Museum we arranged for a spiritual leader to conduct a traditional Mayan ceremony for us. Through the explanation of each step of the ceremony we were better able to understand the beliefs of the Maya's that have been handed down generation to generation for hundreds and hundreds of years.
As our ceremony was performed other ceremonies were ongoing in the immediate vicinity all adding to an almost mystical feel that took you back in time to when the Maya were the rulers of the land that they still occupy.
Even if you do not arrange for a private ceremony hike to the top of the sacred hill and you hope to grab a glimps of Mayan life.
As our ceremony was performed other ceremonies were ongoing in the immediate vicinity all adding to an almost mystical feel that took you back in time to when the Maya were the rulers of the land that they still occupy.
Even if you do not arrange for a private ceremony hike to the top of the sacred hill and you hope to grab a glimps of Mayan life.
Written 18 July 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rapha_y_nici
Zurich, Switzerland5,948 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
By chance we did a ceremony at this place and we were positively surprised. Usually we are not the most spiritual people but open to other cultures. This here was a nice experience. The lady who lead the ceremony was lovely and proceeded with the ritual in an authentic way, her son translated for it for us. Just ask around in front of the cathedral Santo Tomas or get a guide. You can visit this place also individually -> take a taxi to the mask museum, walk 10min up the hill. Nice views by the way. Interesting place and recommended to go there (with or without ceremony, up to you). Would do it again.
Written 19 February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julio Areck Chang
Taipei, Taiwan92 contributions
Apr 2015 • Friends
You take a long and healthy walk to get to the top of this hill and you'll probably witness a Mayan ceremony there.
Written 29 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Diane S
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico43 contributions
Jan 2015 • Friends
Our guide led us up a dirt trail with many switchbacks. The climb was strenuous but we all made it to the top. We were very fortunate because a shaman was performing a ritual blessing on a young man who was leaving home. (Our guide revealed the context of the ritual)
By the end of the ceremony we were all in tears. The young man, his mother and 5 strangers observing the blessing. I'm not a strongly religious person but this blessing on a hill in Guatemala under the trees and sky really moved me!
The people of Chichicastanango have so little when compared to the average North American. Their religion, a blend of Mayan and Catholic, is what sustains them and allows them to carry on with what they have.
By the end of the ceremony we were all in tears. The young man, his mother and 5 strangers observing the blessing. I'm not a strongly religious person but this blessing on a hill in Guatemala under the trees and sky really moved me!
The people of Chichicastanango have so little when compared to the average North American. Their religion, a blend of Mayan and Catholic, is what sustains them and allows them to carry on with what they have.
Written 25 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Casa Diego Ignacio
Chichicastenango, Guatemala19 contributions
Jan 2020
You have to take the second access to the sacred hill named Turkaj where you can find a ritual place called Pascal Abaj, crossing Casa Diego Ignacio
Written 30 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James P
Los Angeles, CA204 contributions
Jan 2019 • Solo
The trail up to see the idol has numerous switchbacks -- in the end, my guide cut me a staff to use so I wouldn't slide on the steep parts. There were no ceremonies tsaking place at the time I visited, but their were clear signs of numerous sacrifices.
Written 5 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WHISKASyKANGOU
Lima, Peru542 contributions
Jul 2018 • Solo
The cemetery has the same but is more interesting. When i went there was just dead flowers from a few days ago
Written 19 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Linaliina
Hamburg, Germany63 contributions
May 2018 • Solo
There are two entrees to access the mountain. I took the second one and found out that it’s pretty much the same. If you take the second one you will be guided to a patio and then the people that live in the house will show you a small path that goes up the hill after a small kid screens moooom a señora! The walk up is easy and takes about 10 minutes. I was there on a Saturday and there was no one there doing ceremonials. It was very calm and quiet.
Written 27 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing