Guatemala City, formally known as Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, serves as the national capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala. It functions as the municipal capital of the surrounding Guatemala Department and anchors the largest metropolitan area in Central America. The city is situated in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita, or Hermitage Valley, within the south-central part of the country, positioned between the Pacific coastal plain to the south and the northern lowlands of the Peten region.