Chisec

About Chisec:

Chisec lies in the north of Alta Verapaz, 290 kilometres by road from Guatemala City. Cobán borders it to the west, San Pedro Carchá to the south, Raxruhá and Fray Bartolomé de las Casas to the east, and Sayaxché, in Petén, to the north. From the capital you drive to Cobán and then take the paved highway north, which carries on past Chisec to Raxruhá and the Franja Transversal del Norte. It was not always this easy: in the town’s early years the only way out was a track to San Pedro Carchá by way of Campur, and from there on to Cobán. The municipality is also smaller than it used to be, because in February 2008 its aldea of Raxruhá became a municipality in its own right.

The town was first called Espíritu Santo. Chisec comes from the Q’eqchi’ chi, “at”, and sec, the sharp-edged grass known in Spanish as navajuela, and it shows up as a town in the government’s table of territorial districts in 1883. Many of the first settlers came from San Pedro Carchá, and so did the first municipal intendente, José Caal. In 1970 Chisec was written into the Franja Transversal del Norte, the agrarian development zone the state laid across the north of the country, and the region filled with campesino families given land to farm. Nine in ten people speak Q’eqchi’. You will also hear Poqomchi’, Spanish, and K’iche’, Mam and Achi from families who settled here during and after the armed conflict; the 2018 census counted 84,553 inhabitants.

Oil palm is the big crop, planted at scale in Chisec and neighbouring Cobán by Palmas del Ixcán, which buys from independent growers as well as running its own plantations. There are oil wells at Rubelsanto, on the field that has been producing since the 1970s. Roughly half the land is broken hill country and half is flat, and the flat ground goes to cattle and crops: maize, beans and cardamom on the family parcels. Every Saturday farmers bring produce from their own plots to the mercado campesino in town, and the Feria Campesina takes over the second week of December; the patronal fair falls in June.

The limestone is what visitors come for. Two kilometres from town are the caves of B’omb’il Pek and Jul Iq’, reached on a guided walk through milpa and forest from a community office on the highway; the main chamber of B’omb’il Pek is 50 metres high, a faded painting of two monkeys survives in a smaller cave behind it, and Q’eqchi’ families still hold ceremonies there. The Lagunas de Sepalau, three turquoise lakes ringed by forest, are run by the village of Sepalau Cataltzul, and the largest, Q’ekija, is deep enough to swim in. The Candelaria cave system, one of the longest in Central America, runs along the line between Chisec and Raxruhá. Rain falls for most of the year here and only March to May are reliably dry, so drive any gravel road to an aldea in the wet months before you buy land at the end of it.

Houses in Chisec:

In town a house usually comes up as a terreno con casa: a lot with a family home already on it, sometimes no more than a small block house waiting to be extended. Barrios such as Monja Blanca, a few minutes from the centre, offer this kind of plot with electricity and drainage connected. Out in the aldeas the house tends to be part of the land deal rather than the reason for it. Before you settle on one of the houses for sale in Chisec, ask whether water comes from the municipal supply or a well, and check how the plot drains after a heavy afternoon storm.

Land and Lots in Chisec:

Subdivisions have opened on the edge of town and in nearby aldeas such as Yalmachac, with lots of 15 by 20, 15 by 30 or 20 by 32 metres, and some developers sell on instalments. That makes lots for sale in Chisec one of the easier ways into property in northern Alta Verapaz for a family planning to build. Find out which services are already in, and which are only promised, before you sign. A lot on a street that is already built up will cost more than one at the back of a new subdivision, and it is often worth it.

Fincas in Chisec:

Larger holdings run from a few manzanas to well over fifty, such as farms on the road to Lomas del Norte, half an hour from the centre, sold with pasture already fenced into potreros. Others come planted with rubber or cardamom, and the flat, wet ground suits both cattle and tree crops. Buyers are ranchers, growers and agricultural companies more than people looking for a weekend house. Walk the whole property, including the springs and stream crossings, and ask what the access road is like in October.

FAQ:

• How far is Chisec from Guatemala City?

  About 290 kilometres by road. You go to Cobán first and then north on the paved highway that continues to Raxruhá and the Franja Transversal del Norte, so Cobán is the city most people in Chisec rely on for banks, hospitals and larger shops.

• Is Raxruhá still part of Chisec?

  No. Raxruhá was an aldea of Chisec until the Congress created it as a separate municipality on 20 February 2008. Land near the old boundary may now fall under Raxruhá for licences and property tax, so confirm which municipality a parcel belongs to before you buy.

• What should I check before buying a rural parcel in Chisec?

  Much of the farmland here began as parcels allocated under the state’s settlement programme on the Franja. Ask whether the original allocation was ever turned into a full title, then confirm at the property registry that it is registered in the seller’s name, and walk the boundaries with the neighbours present.

• What kind of property can I buy in Chisec?

  Mostly land: lots in new subdivisions around town, family houses sold with their plot, and fincas of pasture, rubber or cardamom sold by the manzana.

• What is there to see near Chisec?

  The caves of B’omb’il Pek and Jul Iq’, two kilometres from town with community guides, and the Lagunas de Sepalau, three forest lakes where you can paddle and swim. The Candelaria caves are a short drive north-east.