• Two other popular trips are :

Lake Atitlan – is a beautiful volcanic lake surrounded by high hills and dormant volcanoes.

 

The lake is surrounded by a series of small villages named after the saints, each having their own personality and offering opportunities to shop, browse and absorb the colourful culture. The lake is renowned as the deepest lake in Central America, and although it has yet to be fully sounded, it is known to be at least 1000 ft deep at its deepest point.

The region encompasses the lake and the towns around them. Panajachel is 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. Many lanchas, or small boats, provide transport from village to village around and across the lake.

Some boats are scheduled like buses; others will go as soon as they accumulate enough passengers, like share-ride taxis.

 

There is plenty of accommodation available – although it is strongly advisable to organize it before you arrive – ranging from fairly basic posadas to very good “almost” 5 star hotels on the shores of the lake.

Lake Atitlan is a trip from the coast that realistically needs at least two days. The drive itself is approximately four hours from the coast (about 2-3 from Antigua), but can take longer based on traffic and road conditions.

An overnight at least is highly recommended so that you can tour some of the major towns on the shores of the lake -= and take the time to relax and enjoy a pleasant meal overlooking a remarkable view. We would be happy to organize or make recommendations for you.

If you can take a little longer, and time it correctly – a good route to take is coast – Atitlan (Panajachel) – Chichi (below) – Antigua, stopping off along the route. This is fairly easy to organize as each of these legs are well established minibus routes, so timing can be flexible.

• The market at Chichi(castenango) – can be done as a (long) day trip, or more easily as an adjunct to a trip to Atitlan. The market (Thursday and Sunday) is one of the largest in the region and offers all of the usual shopping/bartering opportunities as well as local fare.

 

Chichicastenango is well known for its famous market days where vendors sell handicrafts, food, flowers, pottery, wooden boxes, condiments, medicinal plants, candles, pom and copal (traditional incense), cal (lime stones for preparing tortillas), grindstones, pigs and chickens, machetes, and other tools. In the central part of the market plaza are comedores (small eateries).Among the items sold are textiles, particularly the women's blouses. The manufacture of masks, used by dancers in traditional dances, such as the Dance of the Conquest, have also made this city well-known for woodcarving.