Lake Atitlan is a beautiful high altitude lake in the Guatemalan Highlands surrounded by three volcanoes, San Pedro (2,995m / 9,000ft), Toliman (3,158m / 9,500ft) and Atitlan (3,537m / 10,600 ft). It is said to be the most beautiful lake in the world, and is the home of many Mayan villages, perpetrating the culture and traditions throughout the centuries.
The lake was formed in a “Caldera” (the collapse of a mountain or volcano following an enormous eruption) and quietly sits at an altitude of 5,000 ft / 1,600 m with a surface of 126km², twice as big as Manhattan island.
Where from: Chichicastenango
How: Chicken bus to Los Encuentros, vip in direction of Quetzal, drop of at Santa Ana, mini van to Santa Clara la Laguna and eventually to San Pedro (we changed our mind). To San Marcos, at San Pablo la Laguna or Santa Clara la Laguna, you can easily get a boat or mini van to San Marcos.
A good map here and of course the Google map of the lake:
View Larger Map
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The trip and evening
Panajachel is the most touristic village around the lake. The good thing is that it is easily accessible, the bad thing is that 1) it’s more of an attraction than a Mayan village, and 2) reaching other villages entitles you to expensive boat tickets and a long wait to fill the boats. 
So initially, we wanted to go to San Marcos by the road, apparently a nice little village on the other side of the lake. We didn’t know San Marcos was also ……. a department on the Mexican border !! After the mini van from Chichicastenango to Los Encuentros, we took a vip bus for less than 15mn, when, after having checked 3 times, the driver finally understands we want to go to San Marcos La Laguna and not San Marcos the department. The bus suddenly stops in the middle of nowhere, in Santa Ana. From there, he tells us to grab a mini van to Santa Clara la Laguna, and another one to San Marcos - and leaves. Well. We finally get a mini van, which actually goes to another village on the lake, further on the road: San Pedro. Quick browsing of our guidebook and we decide to try it. Once the rain stops and clouds disappear (the road comes from high in the mountains down on the lake), we start to discover the views and eventually the lake - FANTASTIC - before arriving in San Pedro. We find a very nice little hotel, Sakari (close to the Santiago dock) with beautiful views on the lake, and spend the evening in a bar/restaurant with other backpackers. The ambiance seems very laid back, reminds me of Asia. Lots of Spanish schools, dreadlocks backpackers, small sand paths between the houses from which you can hear Bob Marley singing, …
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Around Lake Atitlan
Boat trip
Wake-up at 5:00am to see the sunrise, unfortunately hidden by clouds. However the light is beautiful ! Quick shower and we get to the Santiago pier for the 7am boat to the eponymous village. The trip is fantastic, beautiful views on the three volcanoes, we doze on the boat’s roof while it quietly cleaves through a glassy lake. Village women wash there clothes on the shore. No tourists yet.
Santiago Atitlan
Arrival at Santiago, know for its market, supposed to be the most interesting one around the lake, and its church, one of the oldest in central America. We walk up the streets to find out that the market is not that wide, but millions (literally !!!) of avocados lay on the ground, fascinating.
The church only kept its facade from the old ages, the rest having been rebuilt. We wander a little more through the market, and wonder if we should take the boat to another village. At this right moment, a pickup is ready to leave to San Lucas Toliman, on the other side of the Toliman volcano from Santiago. On the spur of the moment, we decide to hop on and join a bunch of farmers and an old Maya lady. Still no tourists.
Great ride for ….. 3mn. A few yards before the top of the first hill, the engine splutters and eventually stops - empty gas tank. Fortunately, a bit further down the hill is a gas station, so with the other farmers on the pickup, we give the car a push till the station. The ride is great, we have fun hanging strong while the pick up is speeding along a magnificent road, coffee plantations on both sides, the jungle here and there.
San Lucas Toliman
Not a single tourist. Nice little village lost in one of the lake’s coves, with its old church, its parque central where a carnival is settling in. In the distance, looking back, we can see the Cerro de Oro, a small volcano cone peaking a few hundred yards above the water. It’s 10am and we haven’t eaten yet, so we start looking for a “comedor”, a small restaurant. We walk down the road that leads downhill to the pier, and find an amazing hotel with a restaurant terrace overlooking the lake. Fantastic place, very good food. Toliman Hotel or something like that - well, the only hotel from San Lucas apparently. We have a good breakfast and 4 fresh squeezed delicious orange juices, next to the National Tourism Board meeting to discuss some important issues.
To continue the tour of the lake, two choices: getting back to the main road (2 miles) and getting a pick up to Panajachel, or finding a boat to go to San Antonio Palopo. We go down to the pier and start negotiating with the “taxi boats”. Successfully (and effortlessly !) we negotiate a price down to almost nothing for a private boat to take us to San Antonio. It’s beautiful, the sun is shining, the scenery is amazing with steep jungle covered hills diving into the lake, the still volcanoes watching in the distance.
San Antonio Palopo and Santa Catarina Palopo
San Antonio Palopo is know for its looms and seamstresses. 
Children are playing in the water, Mayan women are washing their clothes in the lake. We visit two or three shops, buy a royal-blue scarf to a 9 year old shop tenant, take a few flight of stairs up to the church to rest a little. A woman tries to sell us some other items, we politely refuse, and end up discussing with her about the lake, the life, the culture. The villages around the lake are identified by a color: each village has its main sign of recognition: blue, red, yellow, green … Women enlace their hair with bands and creat beautiful braids.
Surreal moment: San Antonio, the village itself, dominates the lake from a couple hundred yards, we can see up to San Pedro on the other side, we sit on the church steps, we haven’t seen a tourist yet. A small market down the street, children running and playing in the streets in local costumes, camera is out with tele-objective to get some portraits. Time to jump on a pick up to continue the tour, to Santa Catarina Palopo. Nothing fantastic there, so we continue to Panajachel.
Panajachel
As expected, tourists, travel agencies, tourists, travel agencies, souvenir shops and $5 beers. Ouch ! We wander in through the market, get a a couple of fresh coconuts, see the very nice church, and finally head down to the pier to get a drink. Every guidebook raves about the sunset cafe, a waterfront bar with nice views. So we decide to try it, and, true, the view is great. Freshly squeezed orange juice and a Gallo beer.
We decide not to stay longer, and head to the pier to get a boat to Santa Cruz la Laguna. However, after 20mn waiting for the boat to fill, rain start pouring on the lake. It’s already late in the afternoon, and we eventually decide to head back to San Pedro. The boat struggles cleaving the waves of the not-so-glassy-anymore lake, and rain is still pouring. Our struggle is to keep the plastic tarpaulin to not get (too) wet. We arrive an hour later, the sun is going down, we find our way to the hotel from the Panajachel pier, on the opposite side from the Santiago pier, in the maze of the streets. Later on, nice little dinner in a restaurant on the pier front, overlooking the finally quiet waters.
Where to next: Solola and Quetzaltenango
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