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An hour or so from Salama, RABINAL is another isolated farming town that's also dominated by a large colonial Baroque church. Here the proportion of indigena inhabitants is considerably higher, making both the Sunday market and the fiesta well worth a visit. Founded in 1537 by Bartolome de Las Casas himself, Rabinal was the first of the settlements to be included in his peaceful conquest of the Achi nation. Sights are few in Rabinal itself, though the town's small museum (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; free) beside the church is worth a visit, with exhibits on traditional medicinal practices, local arts and crafts and the impact of the civil war in the region - there were four massacres in 1982 alone in the Rio Negro region north of the town. The hills around Rabinal are scattered with Maya ruins, including the remains of Cahyup , 3km northwest of the plaza, a thirty-minute hike away. Rabinal's fiesta (Jan 19-24) is noted for its dances. The most famous of these, an extended dance drama known as the "Rabinal Achi", re-enacts a battle between the Achi and the K'iche' tribes and is unique to the town, being performed annually on January 23. Other dances include the patzca , a ceremony to call for good harvests, using masks that portray a swelling below the jaw, and wooden sticks engraved with serpents, birds and human heads. If you can't make it for the fiesta, the Sunday market is a good second-best - Rabinal has a reputation for producing high-quality artesania, including carvings made from the arbol del morro (calabash tree) and traditional pottery. Of the several fairly basic hotels in Rabinal, the best is the Posada San Pablo at 3 Av 1-50 (up to US$10), a decent budget hotel with immaculate rooms, some with private bath; if it's full, try the Hospedaje Caballeros , 1 C 4-02 (up to US$5). For somewhere really comfortable, see if the new three-storey Gran Hotel Rabinal Achi is operational; if it is, you'll find 36 comfortable rooms, a pool and a cafe. For an inexpensive meal try Cafeteria Mishell del Rosario on 1 Calle behind the church. Hourly buses run between Salama and Rabinal (1hr) between 6am and 5pm.
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