Zacapa

About Zacapa:

The department lies in Guatemala’s northeast, about 147 kilometres from the capital. Alta Verapaz and Izabal border it to the north, Chiquimula and Jalapa to the south, El Progreso to the west, and Izabal and Honduras to the east. It was created on 10 November 1871, when the government of Miguel García Granados split the old Corregimiento de Chiquimula in two. Today it has eleven municipalities: Zacapa, the seat, plus Cabañas, Estanzuela, Gualán, Huité, La Unión, Río Hondo, San Diego, San Jorge, Teculután and Usumatlán. San Jorge is the newest, created in January 2014, and Gualán is by far the largest; together with the municipality of Zacapa it covers nearly half the department. Three roads carry most of the traffic, the CA-9 Atlantic highway, the CA-10 and national route 20, and traces remain of the old Ferrocarril del Norte, which ran through the seat and sent a branch line towards El Salvador.

Farming is the base of the economy. Irrigated vegas near the rivers grow melon, tobacco, tomato, okra and sweet pepper, much of it for export, while maize, beans, cassava, sugarcane and pasture take up the rest of the land. Cattle are raised across the department, and Zacapa cheese, cream and other dairy are known all over Guatemala. Up in the hills, La Unión, called El Oasis de Oriente for its forest and cool weather, grows coffee and oranges on a large scale. The ground also yields white and grey marble, serpentinite and jade. Along the CA-9, trade, services and industry add jobs, and Estanzuela, Teculután and Río Hondo, all three on the highway, are the most developed municipalities in the department.

Altitude runs from 130 metres in Gualán to more than 3,000 metres on the peaks of the Sierra de las Minas, and the landscape changes with it. The middle stretch of the Motagua valley is semi-arid. Thorn scrub and dry forest cover the hills, rain comes mostly between June and October, and the valley floor gets only a fraction of the rain that falls on the mountains around it. That dry forest is the only home of Heloderma charlesbogerti, a critically endangered beaded lizard protected in a private reserve at El Arenal, in Cabañas. Below Gualán the valley turns humid and green, banana grows on the plains, and small boats can travel the Motagua down towards the Caribbean. Higher up, the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve shelters pine, oak and cloud forest where the quetzal lives, and the Las Granadillas mountains to the south are protected as well. A short drive can take you from valley heat to mountain cool, so decide early which one you want to live with.

Roughly a quarter of a million people live in the department, spread across 531 towns, aldeas, caseríos and fincas. Most residents are ladino, and La Unión keeps a Ch’orti’ Maya community. The region’s Spanish roots show at the fairs, with jaripeos, bullfights and ribbon and ring races. Buyers are mainly local families moving into a home of their own, people who work in farming, trade or along the highway, and companies that want space on the corridor between the capital and the Caribbean ports. At weekends visitors head for the Valle Dorado water park, the Pasabién river pools, the Santa Marta hot springs and the paleontology museum in Estanzuela, with its mastodon fossils.

Houses in Zacapa:

Most homes for sale are one- or two-storey family houses in the barrios and colonias of the municipal seats, with the widest choice in the city of Zacapa, Estanzuela, Río Hondo and Teculután. In the aldeas a house often comes with a bigger plot and room for a yard, fruit trees or a few animals. Gated residenciales on the CA-9 and at the edge of the department seat add paved streets and a guard at the gate. When you weigh up houses for sale in Zacapa department, judge the heat as carefully as the floor area. In the valley, shade, cross-ventilation and a water tank make the difference; in La Unión or San Diego, find out what the road is like in the middle of the rainy season.

Rentals in Zacapa:

Rentals here are homes for people who live and work in the area: two-bedroom apartments, small houses and rooms close to the town centres, plus a few furnished units by the highway for people passing through. Demand is strongest in the city of Zacapa, where the regional hospital, government offices and the Universidad de San Carlos campus bring in staff and students. Warehouses and shop premises along the CA-9 are rented to businesses as well. Before you sign, settle who pays for water and electricity, and spend an April afternoon in the place if you can.

New Developments in Zacapa:

New building mostly takes the form of lotificaciones and gated condominiums that sell serviced lots, with or without a finished house. They cluster around the department seat and along the CA-9 between Teculután, Río Hondo and Estanzuela. Many developers offer their own financing in monthly instalments. Ask for the municipal approval of the project, make sure each lot will be registered as a separate property, and get in writing who will run the water system and keep up the streets once the developer moves on.

Land and Lots in Zacapa:

Land in the department falls into a few distinct markets. Urban lots in the municipal seats suit a home or a small business. Valley farms are sold by the manzana; they are flat and productive with irrigation, but without it the long dry season limits what will grow. Parcels in La Unión and on the slopes of the sierra lean towards coffee, fruit and forest, though parts of the Sierra de las Minas sit inside the biosphere reserve, where land-use restrictions apply. Wherever you buy, ask the same three things: where the water comes from, whether the access road survives September, and whether the title is clean at the property registry.

Commercial Property in Zacapa:

The road network is what sets this department apart. Frontage on the CA-9 between Teculután and Río Hondo is sold for logistics, warehouses and roadside business, and the junction with the CA-10 catches everyone heading for Chiquimula, Esquipulas and Honduras. In the city of Zacapa, lots near the entrance boulevard are close to the regional hospital, the IGSS clinic and the stadium. Before you plan a business, ask the municipality what the parcel may be used for, and picture how a loaded truck will get in and out.

FAQ:

• Which municipalities are in Zacapa department?

  There are eleven: Cabañas, Estanzuela, Gualán, Huité, La Unión, Río Hondo, San Diego, San Jorge, Teculután, Usumatlán and Zacapa. The city of Zacapa is the department seat, and San Jorge, created in 2014, is the newest.

• How far is Zacapa from Guatemala City?

  The department seat is just under 150 kilometres away, along the CA-9 and then a short stretch of the CA-10. Usumatlán and Teculután are the first municipalities you reach coming from El Progreso, and Río Hondo and Gualán sit further along the same highway.

• Where is the climate cooler in Zacapa?

  In La Unión, in San Diego and in the aldeas on the slopes of the Sierra de las Minas. The towns on the floor of the Motagua valley are hot all year, with the strongest heat before the rains arrive.

• Can I buy land in the Sierra de las Minas?

  Private land exists in the sierra, but much of it lies inside the biosphere reserve, managed by Defensores de la Naturaleza, where building and clearing are restricted. Confirm the parcel’s status with the reserve and the municipality before you pay anything.

• What is there to see in Zacapa?

  The paleontology museum in Estanzuela, the cold pools of Pasabién, the Valle Dorado water park and the Santa Marta hot springs are the best-known stops. Nature lovers can visit the dry forest at the Heloderma reserve in Cabañas or head up into the Sierra de las Minas.