Lanquín is a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in the Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

n department of Alta Verapaz

Alta Verapaz

Alta Verapaz 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.Also in Alta Verapaz...

. It is situated at 380 m above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

. It contains 16,500 people, many of Q'eqchi' Maya

Maya peoples

The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...

 descent. It covers an area of 208 km².

A large cave complex, known as Grutas de Lanquín

Grutas de Lanquín

Grutas de Lanquín is a large limestone cave system located west of Lanquín in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.The Lanquín cave system was declared a national park in 1955....

is situated just 1 km west of the town, and 11 km south of Lanquín is the Cahabón River and its natural monument

Natural Monument

A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance....

 Semuc Champey

Semuc Champey

Semuc Champey is a natural monument in the department of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, near the Q'eqchi' Maya town of Lanquín. It consists of a natural 300 m limestone bridge, under which passes the Cahabòn River. Atop the bridge is a series of stepped, turquoise pools, a popular swimming attraction...

. Lanquín is often used as starting point for trips to Semuc Champey.