Semuc Champey | Tourist Attraction

February 17th, 2024 by k

Road ok for my sprinter 2wd 7m long, made it to the entrance parking easy. Maybe when raining last 200m would be little bit harder.

February 5th, 2024 by Päsci&TineOnTour

Road from Lanquin to Semuc is under construction. A big part is paved now, followed by an easy dirt road (already prepared to pave). The last 200m up to the visitor center is a steep gravel road but doable with some clearance.
We did it with a 2WD GMC Savana and it was no problem.
Camping: 10Q p.P
Entrance: 50Q p.P

May 31st, 2023 by Jeroen

Drive down from Lanquin is currently rough but doable with any kind of soccer mum suv. I just did it with a ford explorer. Just take it slow. Was still 99% dry. In the wet it will be a very different story…

April 27th, 2023 by IG:opusonthemove

All as described below. Arrived at 4:30pm, ticket lady was leaving and didn't want to open up shop again so we paid for everything the next morning. 50p/p entry + 10p/p camping + 10 to park, so 130 total for a couple.

Some updated road details if you are crazy enough to want to drive all the way to the visitor center. This road is quite an adventure. 4x4/high clearance/low range is very necessary at the moment. They are in the process of building a new 2 lane concrete road all the way down in there, but they are still working at the top. On our way in there were flaggers and one way traffic in several spots adding an hour of waiting time. Just over 2 hours for the 11kms from Languin to Semuc Champey. On the way out it was their lunchtime so no flaggers but you got to dodge the collectivo 4*4 cattle trucks bringing tourists down. We have a Toyota Tacoma, that was fine, but bigger rigs are going to have incredibly tight passing on this super steep rutted single lane road until they get the new one all finished. Looks like a multi-year project.

March 18th, 2023 by naturwunderer_&photografnix

Be careful when you buy food at the entrance. They charged us 18 USD for 1 Water, 2 Cokes and 3 small portion of rice, noddles and a small piece of chicken.
Ask the price before you eat ! The Parc and the Water to swim is beautiful.

November 4th, 2022 by phidiasdavide-forumno

The camping at the National Park is actually a proper camping, great for tents. there are shelters, picnic tables, areas for fire with grill, toilet, cold showers. For 10Q is great!
Consider that there entrance to the national park (50Q) is per day. So if arrive late in the afternoon, you better pay only the camping fee (possible), visit the river and village, and the next day you pay for the national park.

January 18th, 2022 by Adriaan&Isabelle

We stayed at "Riverside freedom camping" (a bit before the last bridge) and leisurely got here at 8:00 am. Climbed to the Mirador, and waited a little for the sunlight to reach the water below (for the turquoise colored pictures). By the time we descended, the first tourists were arriving at the pools, but it wasn't crowded. After an hours swim we left for Cobán and saw hordes of tourists like cattle in pickup trucks coming towards us.

Our advice: come early, but allow for the winter's sun to be high enough, bring water, insect repellent, money for delicious fruit from the vendors, a padlock, swimsuit and optionally water resistant footwear.

We liked it a lot, it was worth the detour over an 'interesting' road and meeting local people. Recommended.

December 27th, 2021 by mark.gumnior

We made a day trip to Semuc from Coban, about 1 1/2 hour drive to Lanquin - arriving around 9.30 AM. It was market day and the little town was packed, there was no possibility to park in Lanquin (we did not want to do the "white knuckle" drive). A local recommended to park at the gas station we passed on our way to Lanquin about 1 km down the road. We paid 30 Quetzales for secured parking and hired a private pickup for 250 Q from there, where our whole family of 6 could fit into the front. Not the cheapest but a very good choice for a market day. The driver waited for us at Semuc the whole time in the parking lot. We left Semuc again around 3.30 in the afternoon.

August 21st, 2021 by hannokolvenbach

You do not need a guide to go in (but the pushy guys at the bridge try to convince you so). Price 50Q per person for foreigners, Q10 for parking and Q10 per Person (?) for camping on the parking lot. Make sure to get a ticket at the ticket booth for each: entrance, parking and camping. Apparently some people try to get money off you after hours when the park is closed, but you won't get a recipe and therefore didn't pay officially (tickets are issued by the Guatemalan government).

The pools are pretty even when it rained (they stay blue and clear). The river underneath gets brown and muddy though.

Facility are actually pretty decent at the parking lot for what you pay and it's quiet at night. Washrooms with flush toilets and somewhat run down outdoor showers (cold).

June 11th, 2021 by tanguy.adriaenssen

It seems you can only go in with a guide now... still the pools are amazing and the river running underneath the pool (which are spring water fed) and super clear even during heavy rains is something worth seeing.

December 29th, 2020 by mundi360.com.br

During pandemic this place is closed on Mondays. We arrived here on a Monday and had to sleep at the parking lot. Prices still 10 quetz for camping, 10 for parking and 50 quetz pp to enter.

February 19th, 2020 by fruit_loop

Really nice place, the view from the mirador is amazing. Bring a lock, so you can lock up your stuff while you enjoy the bath.

May 13th, 2019 by bradyanddanica

What a gem! We left our van at the campground and took the colectivo there and back for 25Q per person each way (total 50Q per person). The best decision we made was NOT drive to Semuc Champey!! Really tough roads, very steep and difficult to maneuver, and not worth it to us when the colectivo is that cheap. The hike to the Mirador is a MUST but you will be sweating profusely and your legs will be on fire because it's steep (30-45 minutes, depending on your pace and fitness level). The reward though is most certainly the swim afterwards....you will want to stay there forever. Would recommend!

March 15th, 2019 by dgrolfe

Awesome place! Highly recommend going with a guide so they can show you all the hidden gems...like where the jumping platforms are...couldn’t find them otherwise.

March 9th, 2019 by info

We used a collectivo from Lanquin to get here, 25Qtz pp. We had our dog with us and unfortunately, we cannot bring it in Semuc. We left it tied in the shade by the entrance (which is what the workers told us to do), left him water and gave the lady at the ticket booth its treat. She kept an eye on him for the hours we were inside, we gave her 10Qtz when we came back.

October 7th, 2018 by sidewaysmoon.com

Can't enter after 4pm (Feb 2019). Opens at 7am according to the girl at the entrance.

May 23rd, 2018 by poramericavamos

Amazing place. Still 50Q pp. Bring change as they don’t have at the entrance (and ask for receipt as they initially didn’t give us one). Better do the mirador first and then enjoy the pools. Bring mosquito repelent and something to eat, no places to buy inside. The road to get here is bad, better to have 4x4 (or take a pick up in Lanquin for 25Q pp each way).

March 30th, 2018 by offroad-travelers.com

Beautiful terrace ponds in a national park. 50,- Q for foreigners, adults and kids the same price. 10,- Q for parking. The parking lot is narrow so no big rigs.
The hikes in the park are steep, bring good shoes, mosquito repellent and water. Water in the park is expensive, 1/2 liter = 10,- Q.
Lots of people on weekends or holidays. Officially they open at 7:30 am. We arrived at 6:30 am and said we don’t want to swim, only hiking and taking pictures. They let us in, we had the whole park for ourselves and paid when we left. Open until 6 pm. No dogs allowed. We saw hummingbirds, huge butterflies and a red snake. Don’t know if it was a coral snake which is venomous or a coffee snake which is not venomous.