Lake Atitlán, Guatemala has long been a prominent hangout for hippies, backpackers, expats as well as travellers. And, after living on the lake for two months in early 2015, we can absolutely see why! There’s just something about Lake Atitlán that gets under your skin, as well as eventually makes it extremely tough to leave.
Lago de Atitlán as it’s understood in Spanish, is the deepest lake in all of central America as well as is flanked by three towering volcanoes – Tolimán, San Pedro as well as Atitlán. There are lots of Mayan villages surrounding the lake, however there are truly only a few that you are likely to go to / move to indefinitely.
Please note: We travelled Lake Atitlan on a budget plan as well as this post shows that. If you’re trying to find a lot more upscale lodging as well as tours, inspect out LuxuryLatinAmerica.com.
Panajachel
Let’s begin with the most prominent backpacker village on the lake. Panajachel (Pana for short) is the primary port of entry to the lake, as well as if you’re coming from Mexico, Antigua or Guatemala City, this is most likely where you’ll discover yourself first. It’s a bustling, dirty village, with a extremely hectic primary street. because of the truth that this village is linked to the road to the “outside world”, there is likewise a great deal of web traffic here.
Whether you’re a traveller or somebody who is seeking to online on Lake Atitlán for a few months, Pana will likely be of rate of interest to you, at least for a short time. This is where the greatest grocery store is, in addition to “Sandy’s” supermarket, which offers a plethora of Western goodies. If you’re trying to find excursion agencies, transfers to Antigua as well as beyond, a large variety of hotels, lots of western restaurants, great deals of bars, great nightlife, as well as economical Guatemalan handicrafts, this is the location to discover Det.
We do suggest checking out Pana as well as even staying here, however we extremely suggest that you take a lancha (taxi boat) as well as inspect out a few of the lots of (more authentic) villages, surrounding Lake Atitlán.
Plats:
Northern end of the lake, the village of Solola is north of Pana, a lot of of the other villages of rate of interest are west of here.
Vad ska man göra:
Kayaking, bar-hopping, go on day trips to close-by villages, go to Saint Francis Church, take Spanish lessons, go to the market.
Vad du kan förvänta:
Lots of tourists, hectic streets, a mix of people – foreigners, Spanish as well as (beautifully dressed) Maya people. views of all three volcanoes. NOT a extremely clean place for swimming.
Top Tips:
This is one of the few locations where you can take out money from an ATM on the lake, stock up in Pana! the very best grocery stores are here. A dependable excursion company for booking transportation is Xocomil, found ideal near the lancha port.
To get a much better concept of what Panajachel is like, inspect out our video here:
Santa Cruz la Laguna / Paxanax
Just a quick, 10 minute boat trip from Pana as well as you’ll show up here. We resided in a suburb of Santa Cruz called Paxanax for two months as well as absolutely liked it. This is our much-loved village on the lake. It’s true that we may be a bit bias, however without any road access, Santa Cruz handles to retain its secluded, tranquil charm. Rickety, bamboo platforms are increased out of the water on stilts producing a cool kilometre-long pathway along the shoreline.
Now that’s a beer with a view! Paxanax was a fantastic location to online for 2 months.
There’s not a whole great deal to do right here in terms of sight-seeing, however for such a small, secluded village, there’s really a great deal of other activities to enjoy. The swimming in Paxanax is good, the CECAP program is extremely excellent as well as there’s a Spanish institution as well. Check out the actual village of Santa Cruz at the top of the hill (take a tuk-tuk or a strenuous walk) as well as take pleasure in the sensational vistas!
Plats:
Just a 10 minute boat trip to the west of Pana, on the northern shore.
Vad ska man göra:
Go diving diving (the only dive shop on the lake is found here). Hangout at La Iguana Perdida hotel (happy hour, BBQs, backpackers) as well as take pleasure in wholesome food at hotel Isla Verde. go to the Saturday morning market. Go kayaking. Check out CECAP, one of the very best pro-economic programs on the lake.
Vad du kan förvänta:
A extremely quiet, tranquil village. No connected road to Panajachel or roads outside of the lake. lots of rEgional Maya -folk.
Topptips:
Det finns inga bankomater här, liksom inga livsmedelsbutiker. bunkra upp!
För att upptäcka mycket mer om Santa Cruz/Paxanax, inspektera vår video här:
San Marcos La Laguna
San Marcos är platsen att gå om du är i helande, meditation, yoga, massage och allt andligt och holistiskt. Men det är inte bara en plats för andlighet och yogier, detta är också en av de mest underbara byarna på sjön. Smala cementvägar slingrar sig med rika träd såväl som blommande buskar, liksom simningen här är också bra – det finns till och med ett område för att hoppa från klipporna.
Utsikten över San Pedro Volcano från byn San Marcos.
Restaurangerna i San Marcos är rikligt och maten är normalt extremt hälsosam. Den enda nackdelen är att den är ganska kostsam jämfört med de andra byarna runt sjön. Det finns ett par små butiker här såväl som det finns regionala leverantörer som säljer produkter. Du kan gå från San Marcos till byn Tzununa på cirka 15 minuter också. En båttur från just här till San Pedro är bara 10 minuter.
Plats:
På den nordvästra stranden.
Vad ska man göra:
Yoga, meditation, massage eller reiki. Gå till en andlig samling, gå simma, frivilligt, gå, vandra och dagstur till nära San Pedro.
Vad du kan förvänta:
En lugn vibe, rika områden, inga barer, men många fantastiska restauranger. Utsikt över den höga San Pedro -vulkanen.
Topptips:
Det finns ingen ATM -tillverkare här. Gå inte mellan här såväl som San Pedro eftersom det finns en hög förekomst av rån längs denna rutt.
San Juan La Laguna
Denna lilla by förbises ofta av turister, vilket är lika dåligt. Visst, det är inte så hektiskt som sådana som San Pedro, San Marcos eller Pana, men det är något speciellt med San Juan. Människorna som bor här är extremt vänliga, det är en riskfri by och utsikten är också charmiga. Denna by är lugn såväl som fredlig. Det finns bara ett par platser att äta såväl som att stanna, men vi föreslår Hotel Uxlabil för mat såväl som för en nattvistelse.
Från San Juan kan du snabbt gå till San Pedro eller ta en snabb tuk-tuk-resa, vilket är det som på samma sätt gör denna by så stor.
Vacker toppnivå veranda på Uxlabil Eco Lodge i San Juan.
Plats:
Västkusten i sjön.
Vad ska man göra:
Vandra runt i staden, gå till kyrkan, ta en dagsutflykt till San Pedro, koppla av.
Vad du kan förvänta:
Knappt någon typ av turister, vänliga lokalbefolkningen, en autentisk känsla.
Topptips:
Det finns bara ett par små restauranger. Maten på Hotel Uxlabil är bra, eller så kan du få några små produkter i butikerna och laga mat själv på ditt hotell. Simningen här är inte bra. En Lancha -båt från Pana som åker till San Pedro kommer att minska dig vid bryggan i San Juan om du frågar. Ingen bankomat.
San Pedro La Laguna
Detta är budgeten backpacker -hangout på sjön. Det finns en direkt väg ut ur sjön härifrån såväl som vibe är stor. Den här byn har en primär väg som löper längs strandlinjen, där du kommer att upptäcka alla backpackers nödvändigheter: butiker, utflyktbyråer, restauranger, barer och vandrarhem.
Kaffebönor torkar på gatan i San Pedro.
När du går upp den extremt branta kullen från vägen längs sjön kommer du att upptäcka vad som verkar vara en separat by, det är här lokalbefolkningen bor, liksom absolut ett område som du vill inspektera.
Det finns fantastiska saker att göra här i San Pedro, oavsett om du funderar på att kyla ut i hängmattor, gå till barer, upptäcka kaffe, få extraordinära hantverkare, upptäcka spanska eller vandra upp vulkaner, detta är byn till hitta till.
Om du bara hade tid att åka till en by, skulle det troligtvis vara den som vi föreslår – det har lite för alla.
Plats:
Western Shore, vid basen av San Pedro Volcano.
Vad ska man göra:
Dagsutflykt till San Marcos för simning, gå till kyrkan, gå till den regionala skapa marknaden, hangout på däck med utsikt över vattnet, gå till barer, tillfredsställa andra resenärer, upptäcka exakt hur det regionala kaffet produceras. Vandra San Pedro -vulkanen samt indisk näsa.
Vad du kan förvänta:
Massor av backpackers, en hektisk by, massor av restauranger/kaféer/barer, vänliga lokalbefolkningen, underbar utsikt – men inte av Volcanoes.
Topptips:
The swimming right here isn’t good, head to San Marcos. There are a couple of respectable grocery stores right here for self-catering. There’s an ATM.
To discover a lot more about the cool village of San Pedro, inspect out our video here:
Jaibalito
Although not lots of travellers stay here, this village should have a special mention as well. Jaibalito is found just a few minutes west of Santa Cruz. In fact, you can really walk there on a high mountain trail, or, it’s a quick boat ride. There are barely any type of people living right here or tourists staying here, however there are a few expats as well as friendly locals. There are likewise a couple of hotels to stay in. inspect out the Wednesday Jaibalito Market as well as Le Casa del Mundo for a drink on a gorgeous patio.
Santiago Atitlán
Santiago Atitlán is the most populated village on the lake, with the majority of the people being Tz’utujil Maya. found on the extremely south of the lake, on an inlet between the Tolimán as well as San Pedro Volcanoes. This is a extremely traditional, authentic village, one that every visitor must see during their stay. Friday as well as Sunday are the primary market days, however checking out any type of day of the week would be good.
Food up for sale at the Jaibalito Market.
Gå!
Basically, no matter which village you choose to travel to on Lake Atitlán, you’ll be impressed. The surrounding volcanoes, regional Mayan people as well as gorgeous lake are what makes this area so extraordinary as well as unique. It can seem like a daunting task when trying to figure out which village is the best, so ideally this guide provided you a great breakdown of what to expect from each village ?
Traveller’s Notes
Cost Of primary boat Rides:
Panajachel to Santa Cruz – 10Q ($1.67)
Panajachel to San Marcos – 15Q ($2.50)
Panajachel to San Pedro – 25Q ($4)
San Pedro to San Marcos – 10Q ($1.67)
San Pedro to Santa Cruz – 15Q ($2.50)
Dangers:
Some areas are not risk-free for walking, seek advice from with a regional before trekking between any type of of the villages. normally each village is risk-free during the day, however the paths between them are notorious for robberies as well as muggings.
If you believed humans are the only mobs bothering tourists at night, you’d be wrong. Packs of stray dogs have been understood to assault unsuspecting people, particularly late at night. always travel with a lot more than one person after dark as well as think about bring pepper spray.
Annoyances:
The boat motorists have an “official” vacationer rate for boat rides. You can discover a indication specifying the primary routes in San Pedro, however if you don’t understand the prices, they’ll most likely try to rip you off. utilize the cost guide above as well as don’t pay any type of more.
Like this article? Pin it ?
For a lot more info on Lake Atitlán, inspect out our articles:
Essential ideas & Information: border crossing from San Cristobal to Lake Atitlán
Our digital Nomad Life on Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
The expense of Living on Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
Have you travelled to Lake Atitlán before? Which village do you believe is the best?
Disclaimer:Goats On The road is an Amazon partner as well as likewise an affiliate for some other retailers. Detta indikerar att vi gör provisioner om du klickar på länkar på vår blogg och köp från dessa återförsäljare.
Leave a Reply