On our tour of the crypts of Antigua Guatemala, we'll explore the underground areas of the Cathedral, Casa Santo Domingo, and the Church of San Francisco. You'll be surprised!
Tour Details
Did you know that Antigua Guatemala keeps much of its religious past underground? To discover it, we’ll meet in front of the Cathedral of San José. There, after a brief introduction, we’ll begin a tour of crypts and catacombs, exploring some of the city’s most fascinating underground spaces.
First, we’ll visit the crypts of the Cathedral of San José, located beneath one of Antigua’s most iconic churches. We’ll descend into these vaulted spaces where the colonial elite were buried. Did you know that, during the colonial era, the closer a burial was to the main altar, the greater the prestige of the deceased?
We’ll continue to Casa Santo Domingo, a former Dominican convent that today combines historic ruins with museum spaces. Here, we’ll explore its crypts, considered among the most complete in Antigua, while observing the visible effects of the 1773 earthquake. We’ll discover how the vaults, corridors, and burial chambers were adapted to meet the high demand for burials.
Then, we’ll enter the church of San Francisco el Grande, another of the major burial sites from the colonial era. At this complex, we’ll gain an understanding of the role religious orders played in managing burials and shaping the urban landscape. Additionally, here we’ll view the tomb of the saint, Brother Pedro de San José de Betancourt.
Finally, we'll return to the original meeting point, where we'll say goodbye after a 3-hour tour.