San Andrés Sajcabajá

About San Andrés Sajcabajá:

San Andrés Sajcabajá covers 446 square kilometres of the Sierra de Chuacús, and its villages sit anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 metres up. Santa Cruz del Quiché is 37 kilometres away by road and Guatemala City 201. The last stretch in from the south, 12 kilometres from the aldea of Santa Rosa Chujuyub, was laid in hydraulic concrete with side ditches and storm drains and opened in December 2018, after neighbours had pushed for it for 27 years. Heading north toward Uspantán, much of the road is still unpaved and crosses the Chixoy, which people here also call the Río Negro, on the Puente Chocox, though some sections are now being paved. The municipality borders Cunén and Uspantán to the north, Chinique and Chiché to the south, Zacualpa and Canillá to the east, and Sacapulas, San Bartolomé Jocotenango and Santa Cruz del Quiché to the west.

Farming sets the rhythm of the year. Maize and beans fill most of the cultivated land, grown above all to feed the family, and since few communities have irrigation, planting waits for the rains that arrive in May. Tomato, onion, cabbage and güisquil come from the villages that can water their fields and go to market in the town plaza. Sugar cane, coffee and tul, the reed woven into petates, round out the harvest, and cane and petate are what the town is known for. Around Semana Santa some families still work the old trapiche to boil cane into panela and melcocha, and small herds of cattle graze in dozens of the rural communities.

This is old ground for the K’iche’. Before they founded their capital at Q’umarkaj, their ancestors settled at Pat’zak in the Sajcabajá region, and by the early twelfth century there was a settlement on Cerro Achiote, close to the present town. Under Spanish rule, San Andrés was a Dominican doctrine run from the convent at Sacapulas and a stop on the Camino Real between Joyabaj and Sacapulas, and it became a municipality in 1892. The white church of San Andrés still stands in the centre, and the town fills for its titular fair at the end of November, which closes on the 30th, Saint Andrew’s day. In the countryside, the aldea of Agua Caliente draws visitors to hot springs that rise straight out of the ground.

Close to 28,000 people live in the municipality, nearly nine in ten of them K’iche’, spread between the town and more than sixty rural communities such as Chivoy, Xabaj, Rijuyub, Lilillá, Sabaquiej, Llano Grande and Agua Caliente. Only the town counts as urban, and over the years it has taken in once-separate settlements such as El Ticón and San Pedro. More than three quarters of the land is mountain better suited to forest than to crops, which makes flat, workable ground the scarce kind. Water matters as much as slope. The Túcunel river becomes the Tíloj as it passes the town and carries its wastewater downstream, while the Lilillá runs clean all year for communities such as Sabaquiej.

Houses in San Andrés Sajcabajá:

Family homes come up both in the town and in villages such as Chivoy and Sajquil. Along the road, some houses for sale in San Andrés Sajcabajá come with a commercial space at the front and extra rooms, a layout made for a family that wants to run a tienda from home. A house in the town keeps the plaza, the market and the municipal offices within walking distance; out in the villages, every errand depends on the road. Before you commit, ask where the water comes from and how the access holds up between May and October.

Land and Lots in San Andrés Sajcabajá:

In the urban area, lots come up in the town itself and in colonias on its edge such as El Águila, five minutes from the centre. Further out, farmland is measured and sold by the cuerda, and a plot ten minutes from town can sit on a dirt road rather than pavement. Larger farm parcels of more than a hectare also change hands. When comparing lots for sale, give real weight to a spring or an irrigation share, because most fields here only produce in the rainy season.

Hotels in San Andrés Sajcabajá:

Hotel property is rare here, but it exists. A three-storey eco-hotel built in 2012, with twenty guest rooms, a ground floor laid out for a restaurant and reception, and parking for twenty vehicles, looks out over the Achiote and Sanmajil peaks and is on the market furnished. For an operator, the case rests on two draws nearby: the hot springs at Agua Caliente and the Chixoy, half an hour’s drive away.

FAQ:

• How far is San Andrés Sajcabajá from Santa Cruz del Quiché?

  It is 37 kilometres by road, and Guatemala City is 201. The final 12 kilometres from Santa Rosa Chujuyub have been concrete since 2018. In the rainy season landslides have blocked the route at times, so check conditions before a viewing trip.

• What should I check before buying a plot in San Andrés Sajcabajá?

  Start with water. Most fields depend on the rains and the river through town carries its wastewater, so find out whether the plot has its own spring, an irrigation share or a municipal connection. Then walk the slope, since most of the municipality is steep forest land. Finally, check that the cuerdas you are paying for match the measurements on a deed inscribed in the property registry, not just a private agreement between neighbours.

• Is the road north to Uspantán paved?

  Not all of it. The route runs down to the Chixoy and crosses it on the Puente Chocox, and much of it is still dirt, with paving under way on some sections. If a plot depends on that road, ask how it held up during the last rainy season.

• What can I grow on land here?

  Maize and beans grow almost everywhere, mostly as rain-fed crops. Villages with irrigation add tomato, onion, cabbage and güisquil for the town market. Sugar cane, coffee and tul for petates are also part of the local harvest.

• What is there to see around San Andrés Sajcabajá?

  The hot springs at the aldea of Agua Caliente are the best-known stop, and the Chixoy is half an hour’s drive away. In town, the white church of San Andrés anchors the centre, and the titular fair takes over the last days of November.