Chahal

About Chahal:

Chahal covers 336 square kilometres at the eastern edge of Alta Verapaz. San Luis in Petén and Fray Bartolomé de las Casas lie to the north, Cahabón to the south and west, and El Estor, in Izabal, to the east. The municipality used to be twice the size: when Fray Bartolomé de las Casas was created in 1980 it took close to half of Chahal’s land, and the Chiyú river became the new northern boundary. Oddly for an Alta Verapaz town, the quickest way in from Guatemala City does not pass through Cobán. You follow the CA-9 to Río Dulce, turn left onto the Franja Transversal del Norte at aldea Cadenas, at kilometre 314, and carry on west for around 50 kilometres, some 370 kilometres in all. The FTN between Modesto Méndez and Raxruhá, which runs straight through Chahal, was paved and opened in 2022. From Cobán you come the other way, through Chisec, Raxruhá and Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, a trip of 148 kilometres.

The seat’s full name is San Fernando Nuevo Chahal. Chahal belonged to Izabal until it was moved to Alta Verapaz as an aldea of Cahabón in 1890, and it became a municipality in its own right in 1903. Go back further and it was part of the colonial Manché territory, whose Maya language has died out; Chahal is the only Manché town still standing. Close to 30,000 people now live across 89 communities, among them Barrio El Centro, Santo Domingo, Santa Elena, Santa Cecilia, San Lucas, La Libertad and Se’xan Chiy. Q’eqchi’ is the language you hear in the street and at the market. The calendar turns on two fiestas, San Fernando from 25 to 31 May and the municipal patron, San Agustín, from 23 to 29 August.

Wednesday is market day. From first light, families from the outlying aldeas bring maize, beans and cardamom into town and go home with what they need for the week. Cattle ranching is the other big land use, and many of the larger fincas on the market are run as pasture. Oil palm has spread here as it has along the whole Franja, with Naturaceites running plantations in Chahal and in neighbouring Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, and teak has been planted as a long-term timber crop. Visitors come for the Cuevas de Se’tzol, 4 kilometres from town, where the Chiyú river flows through limestone caverns that the Q’eqchi’ still use for ceremonies, and for Las Conchas, a park of turquoise pools and a waterfall more than 10 metres high at the end of a 4-kilometre dirt track.

It is hot and wet all year. Average highs climb from 26.5 °C in January to 31.5 °C in June, and about 2,780 millimetres of rain falls in a year, most of it from June to October; March to May is the short dry season. The ground is low karst country of rounded hills, caves and river valleys, mostly between 200 and 350 metres, with the Chamá and Santa Cruz ranges on the horizon. Roughly a quarter of the municipality is still forest, although mahogany and cedar have been cut until they are scarce. In a bad wet season the FTN between Chahal and Cadenas can end up under water for kilometres, which is worth knowing if you will depend on that road.

Houses in Chahal:

In Nuevo Chahal a house usually comes up for sale as a terreno con casa, a lot with a family-built home on it. Out in the aldeas many homes are still built of wood and roofed with corozo palm leaf, which keeps the heat down but has to be renewed over time. Houses also come with the farms: a finca might include a concrete main house, a few wooden houses for workers and a shed. Before you buy houses for sale in Chahal, ask where the water comes from and look at how high the floor sits above the yard after a downpour.

Land and Lots in Chahal:

Inside town, buyers look for lots a block or two from the paved streets and for commercial plots facing the main road, and at least one lotificación of flat lots with vehicle access and electricity has opened. Beyond the town, land for sale in Chahal is priced by the manzana, from a few manzanas to thirty or more, often with frontage on the FTN or on the gravel roads that branch off it. Chahal lies inside the agrarian development zone the state created along the Franja in 1970, and a lot of rural land here began as parcels handed out by the government. Check that the title is registered in the seller’s name at the property registry, and walk the boundaries with the neighbours before you pay a deposit.

Fincas in Chahal:

Large holdings of 10 to 15 caballerías change hands here, most of them cattle land, and there are teak plantations too, such as an 84-hectare finca with springs between 240 and 345 metres, five minutes from the asphalt. Buyers are ranchers, timber investors and agricultural businesses rather than people looking for a weekend place. Drive the access road in September, not March. If you are buying standing teak and plan to harvest it, ask for the plantation’s registration with INAB, the national forestry institute.

FAQ:

• How do I get to Chahal from Guatemala City?

  Take the CA-9 towards the Atlantic as far as Río Dulce, then turn left at aldea Cadenas, at kilometre 314, onto the Franja Transversal del Norte and drive west to Nuevo Chahal. The whole trip is about 370 kilometres. From Cobán the route runs through Chisec, Raxruhá and Fray Bartolomé de las Casas and covers 148 kilometres.

• Why is the town called Nuevo Chahal?

  The municipal seat was moved in April 1983 from the original settlement, today the hamlet of Viejo Chahal or San Agustín Chahal, to a finca called Rubel Inup. The government made the move official in 1985 under the name Nuevo Chahal.

• What is the weather like in Chahal?

  Hot and humid, with an average temperature of about 25 °C and some 2,780 millimetres of rain a year. The rainy season runs from June to October and the dry months are March to May.

• What kind of property can I buy in Chahal?

  Mostly land. Expect town lots and roadside commercial plots in Nuevo Chahal, rural plots sold by the manzana, and fincas of pasture or teak sold by the caballería. Houses are usually sold together with the lot or finca they stand on.

• What is there to see in Chahal?

  The Cuevas de Se’tzol, a short way from town, where the Chiyú river runs through the caves and local guides take groups in with helmets and lamps. Las Conchas has natural pools, waterfalls, trails and a camping area.