The Cahabón River disappears into a sinkhole called El Sumidero and runs 300 metres underground, and what sits on the roof of that tunnel is a limestone bridge carrying a staircase of turquoise pools fed by mountain springs. The Q’eqchi’ name means where the river hides under the earth, which is exactly the thing. Travertine built the bridge and the pools are a separate freshwater world from the river thundering below them. It became a protected natural monument in 2005, run by CONAP and the municipality of Lanquín. The viewpoint everyone photographs, El Mirador, is about 45 minutes uphill through jungle from the car park. Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, at 380 metres.
Lanquín, Guatemala
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