Weekend Excursion
to Lake Atitlan:
Panajachel & Chichicastenango

Travel west to Guatemala's Highlands, the heartland of Guatemala's indigenous population, settled around Lake Atitlan's shores. Called “the most beautiful lake of the world” by novelist Aldous Huxley, Lake Atitlan offers its natural beauty surrounded by impressive volcanoes and steep hillsides, dotted with small indigenous villages, where time seems to have stopped a long time ago. The villagers tend their small plots of land or go about their business still wearing their traditional dress, different from village to village. This smorgasbord of colour bursts together each week at the largest indigenous market of Central America: Chichicastenango, world famous for its exquisite handicrafts, an excursion not to be missed if one wants to get acquainted with today's “real” Guatemala.

SCHEDULE

Saturday

08:00 am: Leaving Antigua for a scenic drive to Panajachel, at Lake Atitlan, arriving at Panajachel at appr. 11:00 a.m. and registering at your hotel.

Sunday

08:00 am: Leaving Panajachel for Chichicastenango's indigenous market.
02:30 pm: Departure from Chichicastango to your hotel in Antigua, where you'll either stay for an optional week, or - after having picked up your luggage - for Guatemala City, to board your plane on the next day.

Optional ACTIVITIES available in ATITLAN on Saturday:
A: After lunch on Panajachel's shore line, Visit Atitlan's Natural Reserve, an ecological park with nature trails and hanging bridges, an oasis where you'll fill your lungs with pure air and watch the spider monkeys play in their natural habitat. At the visitor's center, you'll find interesting info on the Atitlan's Valley history and ecology.

OR:
B: Take a private boat trip on Lake Atitlan to see indigenous villages. Visit of art galleries and lunch at the lakeside village of Santa Catarina Palopo. Strolling inside the colorful village of San Antonio Palopo, with its traditional Maya hand weavers. Return to Panajachel around 3:30 pm.

At Panajachel you can walk along the beach-promenade or you can take time to shop around. On the main street you'll find stalls with a great variety of handicrafts, as well as plenty of restaurants with international cuisine. In the afternoon you can soak in your hotel's jacuzzi, tucked away in the tropical garden… a real delight to enjoy a hot mineral bath, while watching the stars…
PRICE: $102 pp. - based on double room occupancy, $122 pp. - for a single room

Price INCLUDES:

• All V.A.T and hotel taxes
• Transfer from your hotel in Antigua to your hotel at Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. Lodging in lovely secluded hotel in the center of Panajachel
• Transfer on Sunday morning from your hotel in Panajachel to Chichicastenango
• Transfer from Chichicastenango (at 2:00 pm) to your hotel in Antigua, or to your Hotel in Guatemala City, if you are boarding your plane on the next day.

NOT INCLUDED:

Your meals and optional activities during your week-end.
Entrance to Atitlan's Natural Reserve = $5 - Taxi round-trip = $10
Boat trip on Lake Atitlan with bi-lingual guide = $30,- pp, (minimum of 3 persons)

Practical Tips

Climate: Lake Atitlan is located at an altitude of 1.560m (5,120 Ft). Its climate during the day is similar to that of Antigua, except that early morning and late afternoon are cooler. Excursions on the lake have to be done in the morning, because in the afternoon the lake can get rough because of the “Xomocil”, a southeast wind coming from the surrounding volcanoes.

Money: To shop on Sunday at the indigenous market of CHICHICASTENANGO you'll need money in cash (Quetzales or U.S. Dollars). In CHICHI Banco Industrial and Banrural stay open on Sunday, where you can change US-dollar cash and traveler's checks. There is an ATM machine at Banrural and Banco Industrial.

Luggage: Leave your heavy suitcase closed at your hotel in Antigua, where it is going to be guarded during your weekend, and only bring along the minimum in personal belongings, except for a large back-pack or similar to store all the lovely objects you'll have bought at the market. On the way back from Chichicastenango the micro-bus will stop at your Hotel in Antigua, where you'll pick up your main luggage, before being transferred back to your Hotel in Guatemala City.