Rough route - crazy curve | Warning

April 13th, 2024 by lamasstephany

Similar to my last post:
if you're trying to get to Lanquin/Semuc Champey or Coban from Flores, I 100% recommend taking the other route, which is road PTE-11, and of course avoiding Road 5, taking AV-9 instead near Coban. This road from Lake Izabal heading towards Lanquin is insane and you really need a 4x4. Our Ford transit with all terrain tires couldn't handle it plus it was just super uncomfortable to be rocking and driving soooo slow for sooo long. It was too much. It's crazy to those who made it here without a 4x4 lol really wild. Just saving you a headache.
Unless you like that type of adventure then go for it 😅

March 1st, 2023 by Hibiscus

we drove the road all the wat from Semuc to lake Izabel with out Sprinter. great route, adventure and beautifull. we don 't need the 4 x 4. average speed 15 km/ h. love it.

February 22nd, 2023 by souldope_overlanding

You are already a crazy cabron if you are here
Go go go it’s not gonna get worst!
High clearance and sometimes 4W - but no dif
Skilled driving - we are not sure about vans….

February 9th, 2023 by emma.banks

Wow. It’s epic but you earn the view. We’ve just done it in a truck camper - truck 2x4 - swaying all the way. I wouldn’t attempt it in anything wider than a ford 250 for eg. 7 hours later and we’ve arrived at the first gas station, they let us park here. Super lovely guys. The road is really bad in places but do-able with high clearance. Don’t attempt it on a very wet day or after heavy rains. Someone says average speed is 20 km an hour, hmmmm 10’s a miracle. You pass through lots of villages with very bamboozled locals, some smile, some are too shocked or shy to. There were funny moments when families in the next village are all already waiting for you to come through - faces peering from windows and them lining the road phone cameras ready. They must message each other: Idiot badly dressed gringos in weird giant swaying white thing stupidly coming through. 🤣 But It’s a super beautiful and humbling experience . And you don’t feel unsafe 🙏🏻💛💛

June 10th, 2021 by tanguy.adriaenssen

Quick update since there haven’t been any in the last 18 months.
The road is not bad, a few sections that are rough but mostly good. It’s a beautiful drive (or ride in our case) definitely worth doing if you have the right vehicle (Anything over E350 /sprinter size I would avoid) a few thing the be aware of, the collective is and truck don’t slow down much! Lots of blind corners that can get you in trouble... road is now paved from Santa María to Lanquin.
Enjoy the scenery...

January 11th, 2020 by hinter-dem.horizont.net

There is nothing special at the marked point anymore. Trying to give you some general information about that road.
We did it on a sunny and warm Saturday (till two days before it had been raining for a couple of days in a row) in a modified Toyota Land Cruiser Station Wagon (3.2 tons) driving from Lanquín to the 7E close to Lanzós. The first 30 km to the lively town of Santa Maria Cohabán are suitable for about any vehicle and even paved partly but nevertheless it took us about 1.5 hours due to road works. Further on the road gets more narrow but public transport is still done by standard buses. Beyond the tiny village of Truila the road gets steeper, it’s washed out and quite rough in some places, and in others mud makes it feel good to sit in a 4X4 (public transport is in 4X4 trucks there). The 50 km from Santa Maria Cohabán to the 7E took us about 3 hours.
We are not sure what the previous post tries to explain but there are two points where our navigation system sent us the wrong way: About 12 km passed Lanquín Google Maps was wrong and about half the way from Truila to the main road maps.me pointed out the wrong direction. Ask locals if in doubt.
All in all it’s a very nice road and if you made it down to Semuc Champey you won’t have any problems there. Enjoy!

January 31st, 2019 by cultivandosur

The rough route this guy was talking about the one that goes surrounding the río Cahabón. The final part reaching Santa María Cahabón was horrible. Google maps sent us trough there, so try to avoid it and in te Y turn left!!

September 6th, 2018 by Tucks' Truck

It's quite a tight turn but nothing that most overlanders with vehicles suitable for this kind of road haven't done before. From Semuc Champey, via Cahabón down to Lake Izabal took us around 5 hrs. 4x4 not essential but high clearance definitely required. If your vehicle can hack it, it's a very beautiful route, highly recommended.

July 17th, 2018 by marek.zegarek1720

We came from El Paraiso right before El Estor heading to Lanquin with a MAN camper ( 9m length, 2,42m width and 3,75m height ). It took us 10 hours with a couple of short breaks. Absolute beautiful landscape, nice villages and wonderful people. It is worth to do the trip to Semuc Champey via this road. After the dam it will get a little narrow. From that point you are in the middle of the jungle. Have fun!

June 7th, 2017 by nomadfootprints.com

Dirt road but not so bad we found in our 4 ton G- Wagon camper

March 5th, 2017 by fullbelly.ca

Also commenting on this road all the way from finca paraíso to semuc champey.
We did it in the rain and fog which added some slippery spots so we did use some 4x4 for traction.
Some big trucks early on but travelling on Sunday likely reduced the traffic.
Long, slow and very bumpy but not terrible. 6.5 hrs

February 9th, 2017 by karohern

They're working on the road. At this place the road is now in "good" condition for a dirt road . But be carefull a lot of roadworkers and heavy trucks.

January 12th, 2017 by travelingtogether814

We also managed the entire road with no 4x4. From Finca El Parariso it took us about 6+ hours to get all the way to Champay. It was very, very slow going and very bumpy. Lots of big truck. It's tight when you need to pass in one lane sections. The last part from Lanquin to Champay we did not use 4wd in, but on the way out needed the lower gears to get up the steep bumpy terrain.

July 1st, 2016 by leoundfabi2016.de

The road is quite bumpy and steep all the way but here is a really nasty curve. Very steep and lots of stones. We managed without 4x4, but might have been luck. Also it is only one lane going north and we are not really sure what happens if a truck needs to pass in the other direction (and there are trucks). Very scenic, though :-D Average speed on this road: 20 kph