I visited Lake Atitlan in Guatemala for a few days over 25 years ago. It felt like time stopped. I remembered it as one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I’d ever been. While it’s definitely a bit more built up now, it still exudes an incredible sense of tranquility.
I’m not the only one to think that. The German explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt called it “the most beautiful lake in the world.” And Aldous Huxley famously wrote: “Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing.”
The lake is at 5,125 feet in elevation and has Spring like weather all year round. It is surrounded by a series of unique towns and villages, primarily accessible by small ferry boats. I stayed in the main town of Panajachel, but visited a few others.
The viewing platform in PanajachelFrom the promenade in PanajachelFrom the hostel, restaurant and dive shop complex in the village of Santa Cruz called La Iguana Perdida. Another view from La IguanaThey seemed to have the same small ferry boats I remembered from my earlier trip here.The main street in Panajachel, Calle Santander. While it was very touristy, it was still pretty chillAnother view of Calle SantanderAt the end of Calle Santander, near the lakeWalking the streets of PanajachelAnother side street in PanajachelWalking by the lake in Santa CruzWalking by the lake in Santa Cruz
I visited the Reserva Natural Atitlan just outside Panajachel which has a butterfly sanctuary, a couple of really nice trails and an 8 part zipline course. I skipped the zipline, but really enjoyed the hiking and the butterflies.
The view from a hotel’s gardens on the walk to the ReservaOn the road to the ReservaInside the butterfly enclosureA handful of moths sleep as a striped butterfly floats pastThe trails had a number of bouncy bridges with nice evolutionary themed signage. One trail led to a small beach at the lakeA troup of coatis scavenging for foodI decided to take a tuk tuk back in lieu of walking
I did a wonderful 10km walk around part of the lake from the village of San Marcos to the village of Santa Cruz, with a stop in the little town of Jaibalito for a snack. As you can see below it was an incredibly picturesque day.
I did a first stop in the town of San Pedro, since I stayed there when I was here in the 90s. It has grown significantly since then. But it now has a nice town square. The small ferry dock in San MarcosThe main tourist corridor in tiny San MarcosLooking at the small village of TzunanaLooking out to part of Panajachel in the distancePart of a group of locals struggling with some heavy loads up the steep steps of the trailThe main street of Jaibalito. Just wide enough for a tuk tukTaking a break at a beautiful restaurant in JaibalitoLooking down at Santa Cruz
I had a chance to dive in Lake Atitlan. It was an opportunity to try diving at high altitude. I had originally planned on doing two dives, but the winter time water was very cold. Even with a 7mm wetsuit on, I was still too cold to want to do a second dive. And, as the videos show, there really wasn’t much to see in the lake. It was just a unique overall experience to do once.
A small crab was one of the higlights of the dive
The best part was the view of the surrounding lake when we surfacedI flew on this plane from Flores to Guatemala City, and then took a shared van to Lake Atitlan.
I stayed in a wonderful Airbnb apartment on Calle Santander in Panajachel owned by an American who visited here 27 years ago, and never left!
The view from my deckThe hallway leading to the door of my apartmentThe outside of the apartment building. My balcony is on the top left.
