Selecting Destinations - Lake Atitlan and San Pedro La Laguna

Lake Atitlan and the town of

. San Pedro La Laguna - Atitlan, Guatemala

Kirsten Noelle Hubbard

Each of the villages edging the shores of Guatemala's heartrendingly beautiful highlands lake, Atitlan, is a Central America backpacker's haven in its own right. However, San Pedro La Laguna is the hub of them all. Wedged at the foot of one volcano with a staggering view of another, shaded by temperate green and dancing with butterflies, the village is notorious for its international denizens who made the pilgrimage to this lakeside wonderland years ago, and remained. The backpacker community is unsurpassed.

This is #7 on the top backpackers places for backpackers

Lago de Atitlán, (English: Lake Atitlán), is a beautiful volcanic lake in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. It is ringed by small towns, many of which are favourites among backpackers. The region encompasses the lake and the towns around them. Panajachelis best known, and a good entry point, but more off the beaten track are San Pedro La Laguna or the "less party, more meditation" village of San Marcos. Due to the region's popularity, other towns along the lake, such as Santa Cruz la Laguna and San Juan, are now starting to see growing tourism.

Around Lake Atitlan can have many activities such as hiking, volcano tour, bike tour, tour in the villages, coffee tour, bird watching tour, trek around the lake, kayak adventure, cultural tour by village around the lake.

There are a number of activities you can do on the water, such as kayaking (rent from Casa del Mundo below, or San Pedro la Laguna) and jet skiing. Diving is also possible in Santa Cruz la Laguna through the hostel "La Iguana Perdida". Or, if you're not the watery type, there's horseback riding, and hiking galore.

There exists a vague, and at times somewhat precarious, path that encircles pretty much the whole lake. New holiday homes and hotels have restricted some of the access to the lakeside path, but it's still possible to walk it. It's a very rewarding and enjoyable hike. Swim in the beautiful water anytime you need to cool off. Wave down a boat from any of the countless jetties if you get tired and want to return back home. There have been robberies along hiking paths. Be sure to ask your hotel about whether it is wise to bring a local guide with you.

Another option is a bike tour spending a night in different village around the lake, you can rent bicycles in the Kukulkan Adventure Center, located in the street rancho grande in Panajachel it included helmet and gloves.

Climb the three volcanoes. San Pedro from San Pedro, guided for 100Q. Atitlan and Toliman can be arranged from Pana. It is not recommended to book tours for climbing the volcanoes in Pana. Most of the prices for climbing the volcanoes will be very similar at most agencies (around USD40 for San Pedro) and they probably collude to keep the price there. However the Pana tour agencies will outsource the work to another tour agency in San Pedro. Agencies in Pana will act as middlemen and take a cut of Q100 to Q200 (Quetzales). It is better to approach the agencies in San Pedro directly and cut out the middleman. It is also possible to do the hikes completely on your own for under Q200 (approx USD24. bulk of it if the entrance fee to the park for foreigners and the boat fare). Most of the people you will meet on the mountains are indigenous people who will be very nice. It seems safe to hike the mountain by yourself (without a guide, but if you hire one you will be helping the local Quiche people). Please bring a plastic bag with you on the hike and pick up any plastic bottles or plastic packaging on your way down. You will be a good citizen of the world. Climbing Atitlan can be done in one to two days.

However you could do it on your own: The best/easiest would be to bike/rent a motorcycle and go from Pana as far as you can. Look at summitpost for detailed description. If you want to commute there, the easiest would be boat to Santiago, and pickup to San Lucas, this will if you carry luggage though incur a lot of hassle (from people), so better get a cheap hotel room somewhere and leave as much as you can there before you go. Do it as early as possible in the morning.

Volunteering opportunities! Many of the schools around Lake Atitlán offer built-in volunteering opportunities. For medical students wanting to offer service and gain experience, Hospitalito Atitlán[1] in Santiago Atitlán (another pueblo on the lake) accepts medical students and clinicians. The new Hospitalito Atitlán, scheduled to be completed in November 2010, can mold any volunteer work to fit the skills available (carpenters, MBA students, computer work, group volunteering for construction, etc.).

• Kukulkan travel [2] tour operator located in Panajachel offers adventure tours. offers daily boat tours to visit villages around the lake, also provides adventure biking tours, kayaks and hiking. All services are performed by professionals and accredited by Guatemala institute of tourism

• Adrenalina Tours [3] organizes daily shuttles to the Fuentes Georginas hot springs in the town of Zunil, to areas for hiking and trekking, cultural tours in indigenous villages, walking city tours, or to the tours of the cemetery and beer factory. There are also shuttles to and from most places in Guatemala, and Tapachula and San Cristobal in Mexico, or Copan in Honduras. This service is equipped with its own vehicles, bilingual drivers, and certified guides. Their offices are located on the west side of the central park in Quetzaltenango, on Pasaje Enriquez. Information: info@adrenalinatours.com

• Caminando Guatemala [4]

Specialized tour operator for treks and hikes in Guatemala, based out of QUETZALTENANGO, on the third floor above ADRENALINA TOURS. This tour operator organizes daily hikes to the local volcanoes of Santa Maria, Chicabal, and Santiaguito (all within Quetzaltenango). Geologists and experts also have the opportunity to explore the volcanoes in multi-day expeditions.

Hiking in the mountainous areas around San Marcos is not recommended- there are several known thieves in the area and police and community members, while helpful after an assault, have very little control of the situation. If you feel you must explore these regions definitely go in a group of three or more, or if you're alone take nothing of value with you.

This was written 4 years ago - need to verify -- Atitlan is indeed breathtaking, but nowadays it is leaving many visitors gasping for breath. A thick brown sludge is tarnishing its once blue waters. It is the result of decades of ecological imbalance, brought on by economic and demographic pressures. The unsightly and smelly layer, more than 100 feet deep in some areas, is chasing tourists away from Mayan towns in the area and posing huge cleanup expenses to a government already strapped for cash. Worse, the results of a University of California, Davis, analysis found that the bacteria is toxic. Scientists are urging residents to avoid cooking with, bathing in or drinking the water. Several towns get drinking water from the lake.

Read more: How Guatemala's Most Beautiful Lake Turned Ugly - TIME http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1942501,00.html#ixzz2r0GmNbhmhttp://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1942501,00.html#ixzz2r0GmNbhm

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

"The closest thing to Eden on Earth"  Lonely Planet Guide

Travel Guatemala and visit Lake Atitlan, famous for its natural beauty and colorful Mayan villages. Atitlan.com is both a guide to hotels, tours and activities, and a travel magazine about ...the most beautiful lake in the world!

Atitlan is a destination for the curious traveler. It's is not a tourist destination like a Cancun in that it has not been cleaned up and pasturized for the tourists. Atitlan is still real. Here you will be somewhere unlike anywhere you have been before and you will meet a people unlike any you have met before.

The local Mayans women wear their colorful traditional clothing not to impress travelers, but for their own cultural reasons. Most couldn't imagine wearing anything else. The views are spectacular and the weather, possibly the best in the world; but, like so much of the third world, pressure on the local environment has increased with the population.

Atitlan.com promotes the best the lake has to offer in the way of hotels,activities and tours – while never loosing sight of the positive role tourism can and shouldplay in local development and environmental issues.