Santa Cruz del Quiche History:

Santa Cruz del Quiche, known as "Quiche," can be reached after a short drive from Chichicastenango.  On the way, you'll pass by Laguna Lemoa.  Local legend has it that the lake was formed from the tears of all of the widows during the Spanish Conquest.

Quiche's colonial church was built from stone blocks taken from Utatlán, the nearby Mayan ruins.  Inside the church is a memorial dedicated to the many priests who lost their lives in the violence of  the 1970's and 1980's.

In the center of the Plaza Central there is a statue of the famous Quiche leader, Tecùn Umàn. 

In the Quiche State (called departamento) there is an area called the Ixil Triangle that was affected by the civil war held in this country for more than 30 years, . 

Ixil Triangle History:

The three villages of Nebaj, San Juan Cotzal and Chajul, make up what is known as the Ixil Triangle, since most of its inhabitants speak the Ixil language.  The people of this area suffered greatly during the 30-year-long civil war.  Over 100,000 fled to become refugees in Mexico during the military's scorched earth policy to rid the area of the guerillas.  The people of Ixil were caught in the middle and became the victims of both the guerilla's and the military's tactics which included massacres of many innocent people and the burning down of villages.

The government later built several "model villages" to replace the burned down villages.  One of them, Acul, can be visited by taking a two-hour hike from Nebaj.   

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