Siete Altares Livingston Tourist Attraction

Siete Altares Livingston Tourist Attraction Photos

LIVINGSTON, Guatemala- There are perhaps only two places that could be called proper tourist sites near Livingston, Guatemala: Siete Altares and Playa Blanca. Reports from tourists returning from trips to Playa Blanca indicate that the beach — among the nicest one on the eastern coast of the country — is full of trash.

The locals say that the trash floats over from Honduras — It is not our trash — and I don’t care if it does: I still do not want to walk through knee high piles of plastic bottles in my pursuit of a nice place to bring my mother and brother in law on their visit to the eastern fringes of Guatemala.

We chose Siete Altares.

Siete Altares is, quite litterally, a succession of small waterfalls and pools that that run down to the sea from a small river an hour and a half walk north from Livingston. Someone must of thought that they look like alters, so it was named seven alters. Tourist go there to play in the water, jump off waterfalls, soak in the “alters.”

On nights that have seen a lot of rain all seven alters are full of water, the river rushes over the rocks and spins in the pools — the place is truly beautiful. But when there has been a stretch of days without precipitation, the river often dries up before making it to the sea, often leaving a few less than siete altares.

No, it is not my impression that the price of entry is reduced in proportion to how many alters there are on a particular day — sometimes you get seven alters, sometimes two or three — it is just the way that it is. But the place is always beautiful.

Siete altares is a tourist attraction, it costs something like 35 Q to enter — though I got in free as a “guide” from the Finca Tatin, a privilege that I have been plying frequently to do the tourist runs around the this region — but it is a truly beautiful place. Siete Altares is a place to play in the water, what sort of curmudgeon could not smile while playing in pools of water?

Photos of siete altares

Girls in bikinis at Siete Altares

waterfall at siete altares

siete alteres river with waterfall

Siete Altares river

Siete Altares pools

Water running over rocks

Siete Altares cascades

The family of Chaya walking on the beach going back to Livingston

The beach in between Livingston and Siete Altares

Dock house with hammocks over the Caribbean Sea

Map of Siete Altares

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