San Rafael Pie de la Cuesta

San Rafael Pie de la Cuesta is a busy agricultural town in San Marcos department of western Guatemala, set amongst coffee plantations.

Understand
San Rafael Pie de la Cuesta is the busy commercial hub serving the surrounding coffee plantations, situated just off the RN1 highway from San Marcos to Malacatan. All the basic services are available here, including hotels and decent restaurants. It is a pleasant place to take a break if you have crossed over from Mexico at El Carmen and are heading up into the Highlands. San Rafael is located at the base of the steep climb to San Marcos in the piedmont "bocacosta" region - with pleasant temperatures that are not as high as the Pacific Lowlands, and not as cold as the Highlands, with an average daily temperature of 23°C (74°F) - although this swings between 17°C (63°F) at night and 29°C (84°F) during the day. There is easy access to cloud forest nature reserves, and you may be able to arrange a tour of one or more of the coffee plantations.

Get in
Buses from San Pedro Sacatepéquez/San Marcos to Malacatán pass San Rafael.