Does anyone have knowledge (first-hand or otherwise) of the present state of the road between Barillas and Playa Grande? According to a recent article in Prensa Libre (" Conap prioriza carretera de la Franja Transversal del Norte ," November 11, 2009), there are plans to pave the road, which has long been generally considered one of the roughest in the country.
I've never been up there -- never been further north in the highlands than Todos Santos or Nebaj, in fact -- but am eager to explore the region. In particular, I'd like to visit Laguna Lachuá National Park, which is in the middle of nowhere.
I'm based in Xela, and Laguna Lachuá is a long ways away. Getting to Lachuá via Cobán (or more specifically Chisec) would be a long journey from Xela. I'd prefer to go there via Huehue and Barillas. Unfortunately, the Quiché route seems out of the question because of the landslides that have more or less closed off the road from Sacapulas to Cobán via Uspantán and San Cristóbal Verapaz.
Moreover, I'm eager to explore the northern region of Hueheu department, in particular San Mateo Ixtatán and Barillas. If anyone could comment on their experience in that region, I'd be mighty curious to read what you think. Could anyone comment?
The guidebooks don't have much to say about Barillas. For instance, the Rough Guide calls it "an unlovely ladino frontier town." However, I'm impressed by what I've read on the official Barillas blog (http://www.santacruzbarillas.org), which promotes a lot of natural wonders in the region. So I don't know what to think. Could anyone comment?
Likewise, Playa Grande doesn't seem especially promising. Haven't read anything good about Playa Grande besides its proximity to Lachuá. Can anyone comment on Playa Grande? How rough is it up there? Can I at least find lodging? My wife would be accompanying me, so it can't be too rough. Safety is a concern.
I realize that I'm getting way off the tourist trail, but this is the final frontier for me. I've already done Todos Santos and Nebaj. I'm ready to push deeper into Guatemala and explore new territory. But I'm also a reasonable person and don't want to push into parts of Guatemala that aren't welcoming to backpackers.
road between Barillas and Playa Grande
Re: road between Barillas and Playa Grande
That road is a shocker, maybe the worst in the country. And there's no way that it will be paved anytime soon. Playa Grande is nothing special, but there are a couple of OK hotels.
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crashmaster
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Re: road between Barillas and Playa Grande
7W from Sacapulas to Coban is open with a new section of road through that big ass landslide. There is only one landslide along that route. I took my moto thorugh there a few days ago so the dirt road was fine for me, a little muddy in spots. High clearance 4X4 is not necessary, but may help in some of the steep spots on the new section of road, and some sections that are a little junked up. A low riding passenger car might have a little trouble in some spots, so you would have to take it slow. On my bike I was able to do about 60 kph, but its an off road bike with great suspension.birchmeier wrote: Quiché route seems out of the question because of the landslides that have more or less closed off the road from Sacapulas to Cobán via Uspantán and San Cristóbal Verapaz.

Here are a couple shots with some sunlight on the slide. Very impressive.


Re: road between Barillas and Playa Grande
Great shots, crashmaster.
We did the Huehue to Coban trip using that route a few years ago. Unbelievably beautiful up there in the Cuchumatanes...slow going, as they were dynamiting sections of road out, right past the Chixoy dam. I took this shot out the window of our microbus:

We did the Huehue to Coban trip using that route a few years ago. Unbelievably beautiful up there in the Cuchumatanes...slow going, as they were dynamiting sections of road out, right past the Chixoy dam. I took this shot out the window of our microbus:
