Guatemala is many things; colorful, wild, gentle, exotic and Finca la Escondida certainly fits this description perfectly. A natural park located outside the tiny village of Los Pocitos, it was hands down, the absolutely cleanest place I had been in all of Guatemala.

I don’t say this as a bougie American or at least I’m not trying to be, but if there’s one downside to this amazing country it’s that the beauty is often marred by the apathetic attitude towards garbage which seems to be prevailent in nearly every corner of Latin America. I know that certain areas lack the infrastructure to pick up trash, a service which we most definitely take for granted in the USA, but I do believe that if more areas could follow in Finca la Escondida’s footsteps, by keeping nature clean and healthy, more parts of Guatemala could shine in all it’s beautiful glory.

The park encompasses a valley and two small mountains and is full of instagramable worthy photo spots with clear views of Volcano’s Fuego, Acatenango and Pacaya. There are also rustic cabins and huts for overnight trips as well as camping options throughout the lush valley.

Ecotourism is on the rise in Guatemala and Finca la Escondida is a perfect fit for this relatively new form of tourism. Not only is the natural beauty of the area on full display but the cultural creativity and colorful nature of the Guatemalan people comes thru as well with the park’s whimsical viewpoints and attractions. The day that we visited, the sun was poking through the clouds and though we knew rain was on the horizon, we had a few hours to explore the park before the storm rolled in, hopefully, so off we went.

After a decent hike up the mountain, our first stop was at the door of the clouds, a beautiful spot in which the entire valley spreads out before you. Then it was up, up again, to the birds nest, la luna and a walk thru a small coffee farm to finally reach the tallest peak at Finca la Escondida, the rope deck vista.

I’m not going to lie, it was actually harder to climb out onto the netting than I thought it would be and to do so gracefully was beyond me, so I ended up just flopping down and scooting backwards, but the boys were much more agile than me and made themselves right at home on the netting. After a quick snack of pikarones and cebollitas, we were off again, this time slowly winding back towards the valley floor.

The star platform is the last vista up on the mountain before descending into the lush green valley and standing out on its peak is both exhilarating and slightly scary. Of course London didn’t hesitate and easily swung his legs over the edge, taking in the view and the fresh breeze which tosseled his hair ever so slightly.

Once we were back at the car for a refesco lunch of sandwiches and soda, the kids were properly reenergized and took off to explore some more. I followed them to a giant yellow chair, which they all immediately clambered up into, then Rio spotted a swinging bridge and they were down once again, racing over to check it out before the sky opened up.

We may have pushed our luck though as we had just reached the bridge when the rain began, and as anyone who has ever been in Central America during a rainstorm knows, that rain is like a river descending from the sky. There is no mist or sprinkling happening here, it is water, huge fat raindrops of water and you have mere seconds to reach cover before you are soaked thru and thru.

The older kids took off at a breakneck speed across the valley and I grabbed Rio and ran as fast as we could towards the car as the rain began to fall around us.

Chino, Edgar’s nephew, ran towards us with an extended umbrella, and we all lurched forward, laughing towards the car, half covered, out of breath and though we were definitely wet, in that moment, I felt the spirit of Guatemala rise like a mist around us and it was breathtaking beautiful, just as it should be.

Finca La Escondida

km 53 aldea 01065, Los Pocitos, Guatemala

Open Daily 8am-6pm~$40 quetzal per person~Whats App 3374 5885