Bethel is a small border town in northern Guatemala located on the bank of the Usumacinta River, almost across which is the small town Frontera Corozal in the State of Chiapas in Mexico. Access across the river border is by water connection, there is no bridge.
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, Honduras to the east, El Salvador to the southeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south. With an estimated population of around 16.6 million, it is the most populated country in Central America. Guatemala is a representative democracy; its capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City.
The Usumacinta River is a river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. It is formed by the junction of the Pasión River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz and the Salinas River, also known as the Chixoy, or the Negro, which descends from the Sierra Madre de Guatemala. It defines part of the border between Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, then continues its northwesterly course, meandering through the Mexican state of Tabasco to the Gulf of Mexico.
Frontera Corozal is a mostly Ch’ol community located in the Mexican state of Chiapas on the Usumacinta River, which separates it from neighboring Guatemala. The community was founded in the 1970s by families migrating from northern Chiapas. It is known for its dock with boats called lanchas which ferry people to the otherwise inaccessible Mayan ruins of Yaxchilan as well as to Bethel, Guatemala. It is also home to a regional museum, which is centered on two steles found nearby at Dos Caobas. The community is located in the Lacandon Jungle, surrounded by tropical rainforest, but this area has suffered severe damage. There have been recent efforts to promote conservation here, especially on communally owned lands. As of 2010, the town of Frontera Corozal had a population of 5,184.
The La Tecnica immigration office for Bethel is located 12 km by road inside Guatemala with pickup truck and bus transports running regularly. [1] The only government officials in Bethel or Frontera Corozal are respective border agents and it is necessary to check in with both in order to cross legally. Border crossers number between twenty and 120 people per day depending on the season. [2]
Besides of people going between Guatemala and Mexico, Bethel's often visits by tourists who goes to or from the otherwise inaccessible Yaxchilan archeological site 25 km downriver by small narrow motor boats called “lanchas”. Local public transport and river lanchas provide access to several Mayan ruins including Yaxchilan in the immediate area as well as locations further into Guatamalua such as UNESCO site Tikal, 4–5 hours away by road. [2]
Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedras Negras as its major rival. Architectural styles in subordinate sites in the Usumacinta region demonstrate clear differences that mark a clear boundary between the two kingdoms.
Tikal is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bethel has limited infrastructure in its one block long Main Street that terminates at the river landing. [3]
