Joyabaj is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of El Quiché. It is located about 50 kilometers from Santa Cruz del Quiché, in the Sierra de Chuacús mountains. Joyabaj was an important part of the royal route to Mexico during the Spanish time. On February 4, 1976, the town was almost destroyed by an earthquake. Most of its beautiful colonial houses and buildings were lost and hundreds of people died.