ATLAS · WORLD HERITAGE · GUATEMALA
World Heritage Sites in Guatemala
Guatemala has 4 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List — 3 cultural, and 1 mixed. Below: how they split by type, and the headline sites. From UNESCO’s official list, snapshot 2026-06-22.
By heritage type
Notable sites in Guatemala
A spread of the country’s heritage — the rarer mixed and natural sites first, then its earliest inscriptions.
In the heart of the jungle, surrounded by lush vegetation, lies one of the major sites of Mayan civilization, inhabited from the 6th century B.C. to the 10th century A.D. The ceremonial centre contains superb temples and palaces, and public squares accessed by means of ramps. Remains of dwellings…
Antigua, the capital of the Captaincy-General of Guatemala, was founded in the early 16th century. Built 1,500 m above sea-level, in an earthquake-prone region, it was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1773 but its principal monuments are still preserved as ruins. In the space of under three…
Inhabited since the 2nd century A.D., Quirigua had become during the reign of Cauac Sky (723–84) the capital of an autonomous and prosperous state. The ruins of Quirigua contain some outstanding 8th-century monuments and an impressive series of carved stelae and sculpted calendars that constitute…
Tak’alik Ab’aj is an archaeological site located on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. Its 1,700-year history spans a period that saw the transition from the Olmec civilization to the emergence of Early Mayan culture. Tak’alik Ab’aj had a primary role in this transition, in part because it was vital…