Lake Atitlan

“The most beautiful lake in the world,” is what Aldous Huxley said about Lake Atitlán. The Mayan translation of Atitlán is, “the place where the rainbow gets its colors.” Located in the highlands of Guatemala at 5000 feet above sea level it is only an hour and half drive to the Pacific Ocean. The lake is 54 square miles on the surface and has depths of up to 1100 feet. Three volcanoes surround the lake, Toliman, Atitlán and San Pedro. The formation of Lake Atitlán is said to be from a collapsed caldera from over a million years ago. Underwater discoveries of Mayan ruins have been found, the locations called Sambaj and Chiutinamit. Along the shores of Santa Catarina and San Antonio, hot springs can be found in the water. Small Mayan Indian villages reside along the Atitlans shores, mostly of the Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel origin. A lot of the indigenous people grow Coffee, Corn, avocados, onion and pitaya (dragon fruit) in the region.