Central Highlands travel guide

The city of Cobán is the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala. It also serves as the administrative center for the surrounding Cobán municipality.
In 2000 the city's estimated population was 70,000. The population of the municipality, which covers a total terrain of 1312 km², was 94,000 people. Cobán, at a height of 1316 m above sea level, is at the center of a major coffee-growing area.
The city was founded by Dominican friars in 1543. The city was developed by German coffee growers in the 19th century and was operated as a largely independent dominion until WWII. The coffee growers were expelled by the Guatemala government under pressure from the United States. Many ended up in internment camps in Texas and were later traded for American POW's held in Germany. A sizable resident German population persists though most having been completely assimilated into the Guatemalan culture through intermarriage. Cobán has been historically relatively wealthy by Guatemalan standards and independent of the federal government though most of the wealthy finca (coffee plantation) owners have relocated to the capital with the advent of paved roads and modern transportation. Similarly this has allowed the federal government to increase its influence. (...) more....