Santa Cruz del Quiché
Real Estate in Santa Cruz del Quiché, Guatemala.
The cathedral and clock tower on the central plaza of Santa Cruz del Quiché were built by Dominican friars with stones carried from Q’umarkaj, the K’iche’ capital that stood just west of today’s town until it was burned in 1524. The town that grew out of those stones has been the seat of Quiché department, in Guatemala’s western highlands, since 1872. Today it is the department’s administrative and commercial centre, with the regional hospital, a campus of the national university, banks, private clinics and a market that has worked from the same building for over a century. Most of the real estate in Santa Cruz del Quiché is family houses in the urban zones and small lots on the roads leading out of town. There is also a steady rental market for whole houses close to the centre.
About Santa Cruz del Quiché:
Santa Cruz del Quiché sits at 2,021 metres, 162 kilometres by road from Guatemala City. The route follows the Inter-American Highway to Los Encuentros, then turns north on National Route 15 for 36 kilometres, through Chichicastenango, which lies 18 kilometres south of town. Buses from the zona 4 terminal in the capital leave every fifteen minutes and take around three hours. North of town the paved road carries on through San Pedro Jocopilas and Sacapulas before it forks, one branch to Nebaj and the Ixil towns, the other through Cunén and Uspantán to Cobán. Another road links the town with Huehuetenango and the Mexican border, and Panajachel, on Lake Atitlán, is 47 kilometres away.
Commerce runs the local economy: more than half of all businesses in the municipality are shops and traders, followed by services such as hotels, restaurants and schools. Small plants turn out soft drinks, bread, purified water and furniture. Work on the municipal market building began in 1918, it still houses the permanent market in the centre, and the Los Celajes shopping centre gives the town a second, newer place to shop. Hospital Regional de El Quiché stands on the road out to San Antonio Ilotenango in zona 3, and the Centro Universitario de Quiché, the national university’s campus for the department, has its offices on 6a Avenida in zona 2. Out in the villages people grow maize and beans, weave palm and make cheese by hand, which Chujuyub and Santa Rosa are known for.
Beyond the city itself, the municipality takes in 93 smaller settlements, among them Lemoa, Chujuyub, Santa Rosa, La Estancia, Xatinap and Pacajá. Laguna Lemoa lies beside the road from Chichicastenango in a ring of pine-covered hills, and the ruins of Q’umarkaj are 2.5 kilometres west of the centre along a paved road. The town goes by the name La Ciudad de los Eternos Celajes, the city of endless cloudscapes, but the weather that matters to anyone building here is the wind. Strong gusts flatten maize and tear at roofs in rural communities such as Santa Rosa, Los Reyes, Cruz Che and Chujuyub. In the rainy season, parts of the municipality also deal with landslides and rivers that rise over their banks.
The population grew by more than a quarter between 2009 and 2017, and new housing has spread out of the old centre into cantones such as Xatinap and the aldea of Chajbal. Small and medium businesses followed, so these areas now mix homes with workshops and shops. As the department seat, the town is where public servants, teachers, health workers and university staff for Quiché are based, and they keep the rental market in the centre busy. For anyone moving to the department for work, it is the town with the fullest set of services: public and private schools at every level, banks, the IGSS clinic and the regional hospital.
Houses in Santa Cruz del Quiché:
Houses for sale are spread across urban zones 2, 3 and 5, through colonias near the centre such as Colonia San Juan, behind Colonia Los Celajes, and out into nearby cantones like Chitatul. Inside the city, most homes for sale in Santa Cruz del Quiché are family houses on compact lots with mains water and drainage. On the edges of zona 5 you can still find a house that comes with several thousand square metres of grazing land. If you are looking in zona 2, ask whether the street is already on the sewer, because the municipality is still extending drainage into sectors such as El Bosque and Los Chorecales.
Rentals in Santa Cruz del Quiché:
Most people renting here want a whole house in the casco urbano with several bedrooms, within reach of the market, schools and services. If your job is at the hospital, start with zona 3, where it stands on the road to San Antonio Ilotenango; the university offices are in zona 2. Furnished apartments are also let by the month. That suits anyone posted to the town for a season who wants to learn the streets before signing a longer lease.
Land and Lots in Santa Cruz del Quiché:
Lots near the city are small, six by sixteen or nine by fourteen metres, in Chajbal, Xatinap and the lotificaciones on the road to Chiché, such as Pinares de San José near kilometre 170. Some of these lots for sale already have water, electricity and drainage connected, with streets being paved and payment in instalments to the developer or through a cooperative loan. Colonia El Bosque in zona 2 also has plots on offer, some with financing. The plots that give least trouble later, when you sell or borrow against them, are the ones sold with a deed already entered in the property registry.
FAQ:
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How far is Santa Cruz del Quiché from Guatemala City?
It is 162 kilometres by road. You leave the Inter-American Highway at Los Encuentros and take National Route 15 north through Chichicastenango, and buses from the zona 4 terminal make the trip in around three hours.
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What should I check before buying a lot around Santa Cruz del Quiché?
First, find out whether the seller holds a registered deed or only derechos posesorios. Both change hands here, and only the first is ownership inscribed in the property registry. Outside the city, look at how the slope behaves in the rainy season and how exposed the plot is to wind, which damages roofs in places like Santa Rosa and Chujuyub. In town, confirm the street has drainage before you plan a build.
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Which areas are closest to the hospital and the university?
Hospital Regional de El Quiché is in zona 3, on the exit to San Antonio Ilotenango. The Centro Universitario de Quiché has its offices on 6a Avenida in zona 2. Living in either zone keeps the daily commute short.
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Can I buy a lot here in instalments?
Yes. Some lotificaciones on the edge of town, including Pinares de San José on the road to Chiché, sell with their own payment plans or through cooperative credit. Ask exactly which services are included, and when the streets and connections will be finished.
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What is there to see close to Santa Cruz del Quiché?
The ruins of Q’umarkaj, the old K’iche’ capital, are 2.5 kilometres west of the centre, and Laguna Lemoa sits by the road from Chichicastenango. Chichicastenango itself is 18 kilometres south, and Panajachel on Lake Atitlán is 47 kilometres away.