Municipalities of Guatemala in the context of "Sololá"

Guatemala City (Spanish: Ciudad de Guatemala), also known colloquially by the nickname Guate, is the national capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala. It serves as the municipal capital of the surrounding Guatemala Department. Its metropolitan area is also the largest in Central America. The city is located in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita (English: Hermitage Valley) in the south-central part of the country.

Guatemala City is the site of the native Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu in Mesoamerica, which was occupied primarily between 1500 BCE and 1200 CE. The present city was founded by the Spanish after their colonial capital, now called Antigua Guatemala, was destroyed by the devastating 1773 Santa Marta earthquake and its aftershocks. It became the third royal capital of the surrounding Captaincy General of Guatemala; which itself was part of the larger Viceroyalty of New Spain in imperial Spanish America and remained under colonial rule until the nineteenth century.

The Republic of Guatemala is divided into 22 departments (Spanish: departamentos)which in turn are divided into 340 municipalities. The departments are governed by a departmental governor, appointed by the President.

In addition, Guatemala has claimed that all or part of the nation of Belize is a department of Guatemala, and this claim is sometimes reflected in maps of the region. Guatemala formally recognized Belize in 1991, but the border disputes between the two nations have not been resolved.

The Guatemala City metropolitan area (Área Metropolitana de Guatemala or AMG) is a conglomeration of densely populated municipalities surrounding Guatemala City. In 2005, the metropolitan area was defined by the governments of Guatemala and Guatemala City as comprising the municipalities of Amatitlán, Chinautla, Guatemala City, Mixco, San Miguel Petapa, Santa Catarina Pinula, Villa Canales and Villa Nueva. Together these eight municipalities cover 478 square kilometres and were projected by Guatemala's National Institute of Statistics to have a combined population of 2,749,161 in 2015.

Quetzaltenango is a department in the western highlands of Guatemala. The capital is the city of Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala. The department is divided up into 24 municipalities. The inhabitants include Spanish-speaking Ladinos and the Kʼicheʼ and Mam Maya groups, both with their own Maya language. The department consists of mountainous terrain, with its principal river being the Samalá River. the department is seismically active, suffering from both earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Prior to the Spanish conquest the territory included in the modern department formed a part of the Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj. The kingdom was defeated by the Spanish under Pedro de Alvarado in a number of decisive battles fought near the city of Quetzaltenango, then known as Xelaju. In the 19th century the territory of the modern department was included in the short-lived Central American state of Los Altos. The department was created by decree in 1845, five years after the fledgling state was crushed by Rafael Carrera.

Quetzaltenango (Spanish pronunciation: [keˌtsal.teˈnaŋ.ɡo], also known by its Maya name Xelajú [ʃelaˈχu] or Xela [ˈʃela]) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of 2,330 meters (7,640 feet) above sea level at its lowest part. Inside the city, it can reach above 2,400 m (7,900 ft).

Quetzaltenango is a part of the Los Altos Metropolitan Area (es), which also includes the municipalities of Salcajá, Cantel, Almolonga, Zunil, Concepción Chiquirichapa, San Mateo, La Esperanza, San Juan Ostuncalco, Olintepeque, San Miguel Sigüilá, and Cajolá in Quetzaltenango Department, as well as San Cristóbal Totonicapán and San Andrés Xecul in Totonicapán Department.

San José is a municipality in the Petén Department of Guatemala. It contains 3,602 people. It lies on the north shore of Lake Petén Itzá and is located a few kilometers from the Classic Period Maya ruin of Motul de San José. El Zotz is also located in the municipality.