Antigua Guatemala's Blog

It might sound cliche, but when you finally glimpse the shimmering turquoise-blue waters between the breaks in the jagged landscape of the Guatemalan Highlands, you catch your breath. The beauty of Lake Atitlán is, as one famous English writer alluded, overwhelming:

“Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes,” Aldous Huxley wrote. “It really is too much of a good thing.”

Visiting Lake Atitlán feels as if you are stepping into the romantic landscape of a great epic movie. The lake, caught in a volcanic abyss, is formed from a volcanic cone that collapsed 84,000 years ago. The expansive and mysterious lake is surrounded not only by a ring of majestic, craggy mountains but also three additional looming volcanoes. Atitlán is considered to be the deepest lake in Central America, with estimates of its maximum depth ranging up to 340 meters.

Aside from representing one of Guatemala’s most notable natural gems, the lake is also renowned for the abundance of Mayan villages that thrive near its shores. Visitors delight in the traditional Maya dress of which even men are spotted wearing – colorfully woven vests and pants. Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel are the two most common Mayan languages spoken near lake.

The lakeside village of Panajachel is the most common stop for tourists and the local residents have become almost entirely dependent upon tourism. Rows of stalls filled with hand-painted candle holders, unique jewelry, woven handbags and woolen coats greet visitors scouting for the perfect souvenir…