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Alta Verapaz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈalta βeɾaˈpas]) is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and Baja Verapaz, and to the west by El Quiché.
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The Poqomchiʼ are a Maya people in Guatemala. Their indigenous language is also called Poqomchiʼ, and is related to the Quichean–Poqom branch. Poqomchí is spoken in Baja Verapaz (Purulhá) and in Alta Verapaz: Santa Cruz Verapaz, San Cristóbal Verapaz, Tactic, Tamahú and Tucurú. It is also spoken in Chicamán (El Quiché).
Qʼeqchiʼ (/qʼeqt͡ʃiʔ/) (Kʼekchiʼ in the former orthography, or simply Kekchi in many English-language contexts, such as in Belize) are a Maya people of Guatemala, Belize and Mexico. Their Indigenous language is the Qʼeqchiʼ language.
Before the beginning of the Spanish conquest of Guatemala in the 1520s, Qʼeqchiʼ settlements were concentrated in what are now the departments of Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz. Over the course of the succeeding centuries a series of land displacements, resettlements, persecutions and migrations resulted in a wider dispersal of Qʼeqchiʼ communities into other regions of Guatemala (Izabal, Petén, El Quiché), southern Belize (Toledo District), and smaller numbers in southern Mexico (Chiapas, Campeche). While most notably present in northern Alta Verapaz and southern Petén, contemporary Qʼeqchiʼ language-speakers are the most widely spread geographically of all Maya peoples in Guatemala.
Poqomchiʼ (Pokomchi: Poqomchiiʼ) is a Mayan language spoken by the Poqomchiʼ Maya of Guatemala, and is very closely related to Poqomam. Its two main dialects, eastern and western, were spoken by 90,000 or so people in the year 2000, in Purulhá, Baja Verapaz, and in the following municipalities of Alta Verapaz: Santa Cruz Verapaz, San Cristóbal Verapaz, Tactic,Tamahú and Tucurú. It is also the predominant language in Aldea Belejú, in the municipality of Chicamán (El Quiché), which borders Alta Verapaz.
Santa Cruz Verapaz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsanta ˈkɾus βeɾaˈpas]) is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz. The municipality lies at an altitude of 1,406 metres (4,613 ft) above sea level. It has a population of 32,042 (2018 census) and covers an area of 99.9 km². The annual festival is May 1-May 5.
San Cristóbal Verapaz (Spanish pronunciation: [saŋ kɾisˈtoβal βeɾaˈpas]) is a town, with a population of 20,961 (2018 census), and a municipality (population 68,819 at 2018 census) in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz. It is located approximately 29 km from Cobán, the capital of Alta Verapaz and about 210 km from Guatemala City. San Cristóbal belongs to the Pokimchi' linguistic area. Its main income source is the «Cobán» shoe factory, which specializes in industrial rubber boots, which are sold both locally and internationally.
Tactic (Spanish pronunciation: [taɣˈtik]) is a town and a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz. It is situated at 1,465 m above sea level. The municipality has a population of 38,052 and covers an area of 102 km². At the 2018 census, the population of the Tactic town was 15,213. The languages spoken in Tactic are predominantly Spanish, Poqomchiʼ, and Q'eqchi'.
Tamahú is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz.
Tucurú is a small town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz. The municipality population was 43,473 at the 2018 census. It is located in the central highlands of the country, known for its rich cultural heritage and natural beauty.