CHICHICASTENANGO

town, west-central Guatemala, 6,447 feet (1,965 m) above sea level. It is the market centre for many Quich Maya Indian villages in the neighbouring highlands and is one of Guatemala's most famous tourist spots. On Thursdays and Sundays, Indians market their products in the large central plaza. They worship, in a combination of Indian and Christian elements, in the parish church of Santo Toms and at El Calvario church, which stand at opposite ends of the plaza. Next to the parish church is a Dominican monastery dating from 1542; in it the Popol Vuh, a well-known Mayan manuscript, was found in 1690. Chichicastenango is on a highway 90 miles (145 km) northwest of Guatemala City. Pop. (1989 est.) 14,483.