Traveling to Lake Atitlán and Its Surroundings in Guatemala
Lake Atitlán is a scenic gem and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Guatemala. It is located about 140 km west of Guatemala City (about a three-hour drive). The lake was formed in a volcanic crater and is surrounded by three dormant volcanoes: San Pedro, Atitlán, and Tolimán, which give the lake's landscape its main beauty. It is a large lake, with an area of about 130 sq km and a depth in the center of about 340 meters.
Around the shores of Lake Atitlán are 13 towns, and most of their residents are Maya descendants dressed in their traditional colorful clothing. Each tribe has a different color and style of clothing that associates them with their tribe.
Transportation between some of the towns on the shores of the lake is provided by a service of small, fast boats. The lake sometimes looks peaceful and calm, and sailing on it in a fast boat is an experience, but sometimes the winds pick up and it can become choppy, and the boat ride becomes bouncy. A road also connects a large portion of the towns, and you can travel between them by car.
It is worthwhile to choose accommodation that suits you and your itinerary in one of the towns, and from there set out on trips to the surrounding villages, whether by car or by boat on the lake.
♦ Recommended guided tours in the Lake Atitlán area (to book via Viator):
A short video about Lake Atitlán:
Accommodation in the Area
You can stay in most of the towns along the shores of the lake, and the price range is large depending on the hotel level, ranging from cheap hostels to five-star hotels.
Recommended Accommodation in the Lake Atitlán Area
Villa Santa Catarina – A 3-star hotel (deserving of at least another star) located in the town of Santa Catarina Palopo, which is easy and convenient to reach by car as well. Located on the lake shore, two minutes' walk from the pier and two minutes' walk from the central square. Ideal for anyone wanting to stay in a central location for star trips around Lake Atitlán and the surrounding towns, yet stay in an authentic town where you can experience local life and walk among their houses in narrow alleys uphill. The view from some of the rooms and the pool is amazing, including sunsets over the lake between the volcanoes. The hotel has a pool surrounded by well-tended vegetation, an excellent restaurant, and a large private parking lot. Free internet in public areas only. Spacious, well-equipped, and clean rooms.
Hotel Villas Balam Ya - A 4-star hotel in the largest and most accessible town on Lake Atitlán: Panajachel. The hotel is located in the southern suburbs of the town, away from its busy tourist center. The hotel has a private pier and offers free use of kayaks to its guests. The hotel features a Jacuzzi and gardens with a sun terrace. The hotel has villas in a variety of sizes: from villas designed for couples with a bedroom and living room, to villas with two spacious bedrooms and a living room designed for up to six people. Each villa has a terrace with lake views. Free internet and parking.
Hotel Posada de Don Rodrigo Panajachel- A 4-star hotel in Panajachel. Located on the lake shore in a central location in the heart of town, near the pier. The hotel is set in charming gardens and features a swimming pool with a water slide, a spa, hammocks, a restaurant, and a bar. Free internet and parking.
Touring the Towns Around Lake Atitlán
♦ ATV tours around Lake Atitlán (to book via Viator):
Sololá Solola
Sololá is located about two air kilometers north of Lake Atitlán. It is the largest city in the area, with a population of one hundred thousand. It is worth visiting the city on Tuesdays or Fridays, as a large and colorful local market takes place then, spreading across a labyrinth of streets selling vegetables, fruits, animals, traditional clothing, and everything imaginable.
All the female vendors and most of the women in the town belong to the Maya tribe and wear traditional embroidered clothing. Some of the men also wear characteristic embroidered garments.
From the market, you can walk down to the town square along a long street named Israel. In the city center, there is an interesting old tower, a well-tended garden, numerous stalls, and a church.
A short video about Sololá:
Panajachel Panajachel
Panajachel is located on the shore of Lake Atitlán. When descending the road from Sololá to Panajachel, it is worth stopping at two successful viewpoints overlooking the beautiful lake and Panajachel:
In the town of Panajachel, you can find the largest selection of accommodations, restaurants, shops, cafes, and laundromats. This vibrant town has no special attractions, but you can take boat trips from its port to the other villages. Those looking for less hustle and bustle can choose a quiet and peaceful town or village as a base and take trips around the area from there.
Santa Catarina Palopó Santa Catarina Palopo
I chose to stay in the town of Santa Catarina Palopó, near Panajachel, because this way I stayed in a quieter and more authentic place where I could see how the locals live without many tourists, yet I was close enough to Panajachel where I could choose a good restaurant and wash clothes. There is also a small port from which I took boat rides to other towns.
Accompanied by a local private guide, I went out to walk among the houses of Santa Catarina Palopó, which are built on the hillside with corrugated tin roofs, connected by narrow, winding alleys.
The houses in the center of town are painted blue and decorated with Maya motifs: butterflies, birds, deer, and geometric shapes. The only white building is the church.
In the alley near the hotel, we met weavers selling clothes, fabrics, and various souvenirs.
We continued through the narrow alleys and saw lots of small children running around alone in the street, women with baskets on their heads,
Maya women carrying bowls of gravel on their heads:
Girls preparing tortillas in courtyards and many dogs sleeping peacefully in the middle of the street. Little girls offered us fabric bracelets. All the locals are warm and welcoming, and you can walk around the town safely even in the evening.
We also accompanied a local girl who carried a bowl of corn to the miller's house in the village. It turns out that in the village there is a miller with a small mill in a small room where villagers constantly arrive with bowls of corn, and he immediately puts the damp corn kernels into the machine to be ground into paste, from which the villagers make their bread – corn tortilla. For the grinding, the woman paid about 25 agorot.
San Juan La Laguna – San Juan La Laguna
I arrived at this town on a boat ride of about half an hour in a private motorboat from the town of Santa Catarina Palopó. San Juan La Laguna is known for the artists who live there. There are many painters who paint pictures of daily life in vivid colors.
They are also known for their local coffee industry, the production of cotton fabrics from natural and organic dyes, as well as the preparation of natural medicines from their medicinal plants. There are plenty of shops with medicinal plant gardens selling natural remedies ranging from mosquito repellents to medicinal teas.
From the port, you walk up a sloped street packed with galleries, small shops, and cafes. You can see a demonstration of cotton fabric preparation from the first stage of harvesting cotton from the tree, through thread making, dyeing, and weaving. In this picturesque and magical town, there are many large murals covering entire walls depicting scenes from daily life of the Maya and their important symbols. In my opinion, this is the most successful town to visit on the lake!
Santiago Atitlán Santiago De Atitlan
From San Juan, you continue with another half-hour boat ride to the largest city on the lake shore - Santiago Atitlán, located at the foot of the Tolimán volcano. About 50,000 people live there. This is a fairly large and busy city also known for its woodwork. There are many shops and stalls and many red tuk-tuks carrying people up the steep inclines of the city.
The peddlers in this city are quite aggressive in trying to sell to tourists, unlike San Juan where artists are organized in cooperatives and therefore do not pressure customers too much to buy specifically from them. It is worthwhile to have a good meal at a small, high-quality restaurant called Germinacion.
It is recommended to visit the house where Maximón is kept during your trip: the Maya people have a deity dressed in human clothing with a cigar in his mouth, and believers bring him gifts of cigars and liqueurs.
This deity is kept in the home of one of the tribal leaders and every year moves to another house where they take care of him, dress him, put him to sleep at night, and guard him 24 hours a day. The Maya perform rituals for him and bring him, as mentioned, cigars, liqueurs, money, and various foods and gifts while making requests of him.
A video of Maya prayer rituals:
San Antonio Palopó San Antonio Palopo
From the town of Santa Catarina Palopó, you drive (by car, on a scenic road) about a quarter of an hour south along the coast to the town of San Antonio Palopó with about 7,000 residents. Along the way, it is worth stopping at a nice viewpoint overlooking the town, which is also built on a hillside and has steep streets and houses built with tin roofs.
In the town, residents grow their crops on terraces, mainly green onions. The town is known for its weaving machines, and in one of the shops, you can see a demonstration of such weaving. The city offers a beautiful view of the lake, especially at sunset with fishermen going out in small boats to catch their livelihood.
Typical Mayan public laundry with a lake view:
Chichicastenango
This city is located about 40 km north of Lake Atitlán (about an hour and twenty minutes' drive). Chichicastenango is known for its huge market held on Thursdays and Sundays and its colorful cemetery.
Popular foods in Guatemala - corn in various colors for making tortillas and beans:
It is of course worth wandering among the stalls of the huge market where everything is sold, visiting the local church where the Maya traditionally burn offerings to the gods in front of the church, and visiting the colorful cemetery. On November 2nd, the Maya celebrate All Souls' Day, and in the period before the holiday, they paint and renovate the cemeteries. Their cemetery is colorful with graves painted in a variety of pastel colors. Even ice cream vendors walk around the cemetery.
A video about Chichicastenango:
If you wish to stay in Chichicastenango, I recommend staying at Hotel Santo Tomas, which is located adjacent to the huge market and features lush gardens with parrots, as well as an excellent restaurant and bar. Even if you are just passing through the city, it is recommended to have your lunch or dinner at this hotel. The cleanest restrooms in the city are also located there (for a fee for those not eating at the hotel restaurant).
Another successful hotel nearby is Hotel Museo Mayan Inn A 4-star colonial-style hotel with a lush green courtyard featuring a bar and restaurant, offering guests free internet and parking.
Guatemala Map
Articles about Guatemala on our site: Trip to Antigua | Trip to Pacaya Volcano and Hot Springs | Trip to Lake Atitlán and Surroundings | Semuc Champey Waterfalls and Caves | Trip to the Ixil Triangle | Trip to Rio Dulce and Cruise to Livingston | Trip to Quiriguá Ruins