The largest country in Central America is a fascinating place with a long history. These are some of the most interesting facts that you may not have known about Guatemala.<\/p>\n
Guatemala’s national bird<\/strong> is the quetzal, a long-tailed bird that lives in humid forests. It’s getting harder to see them in the wild, but you can see them every day on Guatemalan banknotes, as the currency bears the same name.<\/p>\n Experts believe that the name Guatemala derives from the indigenous Nahuatl word “Quahtlemallan”<\/strong>, which means “land of many trees”. Although it is true that the country has a large amount of forests, large areas are being cut down for innumerable reasons.<\/p>\n Long before the Spanish conquistadors arrived to the country, the land was ruled by various Mayan kingdoms. You can still see evidence of these civilizations at more than 5,000 archaeological sites.<\/p>\n Spanish is the official and most useful language throughout the country, many other indigenous\u00a0 languages \u200b\u200bare spoken in Guatemala<\/strong>. Each of the 21 indigenous Mayan communities has its own language, and many are still widely used today.<\/p>\nGuatemala means “land of many trees”<\/h3>\n
It has been inhabited for 20,000 years.<\/h3>\n
22 languages \u200b\u200bare spoken in the country<\/h3>\n
Gastronomic presence around the world<\/h3>\n