Bethel, El Petén
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bethel is a small border town in northern
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
located on the bank of the
Usumacinta River The Usumacinta River (; named after the howler monkey) 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 (in Guatemala) and the Salinas ...
, almost across which is the small town
Frontera Corozal 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 ...
in the State of
Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. Access across the river border is by water connection, there is no bridge. The La Tecnica immigration office for Bethel is located 12 km by road inside Guatemala with pickup truck and bus transports running regularly. 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. Besides of people going between Guatemala and Mexico, Bethel's often visits by tourists who goes to or from the otherwise inaccessible
Yaxchilan 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 Pied ...
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 Tikal (; ''Tik'al'' in modern Mayan orthography) 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-Col ...
, 4–5 hours away by road. Bethel has limited infrastructure in its one block long Main Street that terminates at the river landing.Footprints p107


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethel, El Peten Populated places in Petén Department Guatemala–Mexico border crossings