Top Western Highlands Half-day Tours

We have brought fun and excitement and mixed it with the beauty and cultural experiences the lake has to offer. We depart from our office in Panajachel and head over to our first stop, which is San Antonio Palopo, on the local road that runs around the edge of the lake. Once in San Antonio, we park at the local pier and walk over to the local ceramic factory where we visit and learn about the process to make all these incredible pieces of art and also have the chance to visit a local chocolate factory. Once finished in San Antonio we head back towards Panajachel but we stop at the village of Santa Catarina Palopo. During this stop we are able to learn and see local weaving, blankets, and many of the local goods made at this village. We also visit the local cultural center where we can taste some local coffee and chocolate. Our last stop, we head over to Playa Blanca en Barrio Jucanya for some pictures right by the water.

Take a sunrise hike up the Indian Nose, one of the most-visited mountains near Lake Atitlan, on this 7-hour day trip. This 9,300-foot (2,863-meter) mountain, also known as 'The Mayan Face,' offers a challenging climb as well as superb views of Lake Atitlan and the villages of San Juan and San Pedro la Laguna. Best of all, you get to take in this sublime sight at sunrise, just as the first rays of the morning light touch the landscape with rosy shades of orange and pink. This Indian Nose hike also includes entrance fees, a guide, bottled water and round-trip hotel transport.

Watch the sunrise light up Lake Atitlan and the Volcanic Ring of Fire from one of the highest points at Lake Atitlan: Indian Nose. After pickup from your Panajachel lodging and a 90-minute drive through the highlands, take an easy 30-minute hike to the summit of Indian Nose, followed by a trip to Sacred Hunters Cave. This tour includes round-trip transportation from your hotel as well as all entrance fees and a professional guide.

Step back in time to the ancient world of the Maya during this 6-hour exploration of the Iximche ruins near Lake Atitlan. Explore this 1,000-year-old city’s wealth of ball courts, pyramid-temples, royal palaces and the on-site museum. You’ll also learn about the history of this iconic archaeological site up through the Spanish colonial era, and discover details about the Mayan calendar, astrological studies and the attitudes of the present day Mayan people towards their ancestors. Your trip includes entrance fees, a guide and a choice between shared and private round-trip hotel transport.

Explore the small town village life and gorgeous scenery of Lake Atitlan during this 5-hour hiking excursion from Santa Cruz la Laguna to San Marcos. During the course of your trip you’ll observe local villagers tending to coffee and corn crops in area farm fields and pass through small Mayan hamlets like San Marcos, Tzununná and Jaibalito. Best of all your hike offers a chance to enjoy the gorgeous scenery of Lake Atitlan and its nearby volcanoes. This Lake Atitlan hiking adventure also covers one-way transfer to the start point, hotel pickup, guide and entrance fees.

Visit three typical Mayan villages from around Lake Atitlan.Witness the lifestyle of the Mayan people, learn their natural techniques for making textiles and see the local way of life.

Step inside the Maya community of Santa Cruz with this NGO visit. Check out a successful non-profit vocational training center with classes in cooking, beading, sewing, and carpentry. Visit a classroom, café, and store run by the organization. Explore the village of Santa Cruz, home to one of the oldest churches in Guatemala, and end your tour with lunch at the NGO-run rooftop café overlooking the waters of Lake Atitlan.

Check out the famous hot springs at the Zunil Volcano on this tour of Fuentes Georginas from Quetzaltenango. Relax and indulge in thermal waters that were discovered back in 1902. These communal baths offer up the perfect escape for travelers who want to unwind after epic outdoor hikes or fun-filled city explorations. 

We customize our tours to fit your interests and the depth you want to explore. Our decades of experience bring lots of information and insight. And we are great at bringing together the history, sacredness, art, stories, and ensuring we have fun while we do it!

A beautiful half-day tour to the Fuentes Georginas hot springs. Soak in 4 thermal pools heated by the nearby volcanoes, surrounded by cloud forest.

Once famously described as "too much of a good thing," Lake Atitlan's stunning beauty and broad diversity of towns can make it difficult for visitors to decide how best to see its attractions. This tour lets you see it all while connecting with the landscape and the local people in ways that few visitors get to do. After taking a boat from Panajachel to the small Mayan village of Tzununa, hop on a bike for a ride through the countryside, stopping to visit weaving cooperatives, coffee plantations, art galleries, and some of the best viewpoints on the Lake.

Visit the traditional village of Santiago Atitlan on a half-day tour from Panajachel. Travel with your guide by public boat to Santiago Atitlan for a walking tour of the village. Learn about the indigenous Mayan culture that remains strong in the region as you explore the vibrant community with your guide. Then soak in sweeping views of Lake Atitlan and its surroundings as you return to Panajachel by boat.

Indian Nose se encuentra en la esquina noroeste del lago Atitlán, uno de los principales destinos de Guatemala La montaña divide los pueblos de San Juan La Laguna y Santa Clara La Laguna. es uno de los puntos de vista del amanecer más épicos de Guatemala. La belleza de la caminata por la nariz de la India para aquellos que no están en ella durante un largo recorrido es que la caminata dura menos de 30 minutos Es una aventura corta y económica con vistas épicas y una excelente manera de comenzar tu día de aventuras en la zona.

 This Tour wants to tell us the history of chocolate worldwide, its origins here in Guatemala and especially the Mayan culture. The process is an experience and what to say about the tastings that will leave you asking for more. Quetzaltenango, is in Guatemala the place where you will find the best chocolate to drink and eat. These traditions of family drinks have been transformed into a way of life and subsistence for decades for many families already dedicated to the trade of the famous and world-famous cocoa!

With their costumes, music, and parades, Day of the Dead celebrations are some of the most iconic in Latin America. Take part in the cultural tradition of giant kites on this Day of the Dead festival tour from Sumpango, which shares with you the history of the holiday and teaches you about the kite making ritual. This tour presents a rare opportunity to learn directly from a local guide about a unique regional custom.

In these tours you can discover how these exquisite stained glass windows are made, the essence of what to make of a stained glass window and also how the most colorful and creative murals of the city of Quetzaltenango were made. Colorful throughout the tour. In addition to taking out all the accumulated creativity, they can make their own souvenir and take it home. Unmissable even for the locals themselves.

Traveling by mountain bike is a challenging and adventurous way to visit parts of Lake Atitlan that are all too easily overlooked when visiting by boat or car. Follow your guide down rugged mountain paths en route to an epic sunset spot at the Mario Mendez Montenegro Mirador in Godinez—chances are, you’ll be the only people there.

This bird watching tour takes place in Santiago Atitlan if you are in Panajachel you can send us your hotel one of our specialized guide will go for you and will take you by boat to Santiago where we will take a track that will take us at the entrance of the reserve. The rey Tepepul trail is located in the mountains that connects the Pacific of Guatemala, the type of forest is cloudy and you walk for about 3 kilometers that will take about 3 hours approximately it is recommended to have a good condition. Also a place that connects with nature. There are river, mostly time of the year is humid. olso you can see local people warking in farm. the birds that we can find we have resplendet quetzal, azure-rumped tanager, norhern emerald tucanet, crested guan, black thrush, brown backed solitare and more. this tour requires a minimum of two people.

Leaving from Panajachel to take a collective boat for our transfer to tzununa. When we get the tzununa village, from there we start the our adventure tour by bike to visit some mayan vilages. We are going to visit San Marcos, San Juan And San Pedro la Laguna. One of the most important things to do in San Juan la Laguna is to see the textile process, how they make it and using the natural dye. Also they use the natural medicine, they have midwifes in their co-op.

The art tours give us the magnificent historical panorama of the city of Quetzaltenango, we are a city of artists of different types. A great influence of different cultures is observed in its architecture, frescoes, etc. And currently there is a wide variety of emerging artists and it is felt throughout the city. It is necessary that the visitor has an experiential experience with art, and can delve into himself to externalize his own creativity. In this tour you will meet several of the best Quetzalteco artists as specialized guides with whom they can learn and even make with their own hands a personalized souvenir made by you. There is the possibility of participating in workshops or special classes according to the time as we continually visit and collaborate with international artists as well.

On this tour you will visit the municipality of Cantel, where there will be a small traditional embroidery workshop. The history of guipil is described, a traditional Guatemalan blouse, unique in the world. As well as living with the family of the instructor in her own home, a rural place full of nature and traditions.

Immerse yourself in the ancient Mayan heritage and fascinating traditions of Guatemala during this 6-hour day trip to the villages of San Antonio and Santa Catarina. Explore the indigenous artisan traditions of the towns near Lake Atitlan as you tour local textile and craft cooperatives and then visit a ceramics studio. Then participate in Mayan rituals as you learn about the Protection Fire Ceremony and take part in an optional hike along the lake’s edge. Your trip also includes a guide and round-trip hotel transport from Panjachel and Santa Catarina.

This TOUR includes the wonderful experience of living a day or several with a local family. Family full of deep-rooted traditions. Where you can even have an embroidery class of the place, where you can also express your own creativity. You will also know the traditional cuisine of the place and even a glass of a special liquor. You will love the place as it is kind to nature and you will breathe an atmosphere full of peace and harmony.

 The Guatemalan Guipil (Huipil) is a type of blouse worn by indigenous women and is unique in the world, made with cotton thread and woven by various techniques. Throughout Guatemala there are many weavers of the güipil who do it themselves with their looms. So weavers have also developed these beautiful traditional costumes with their loom standing. The importance of valuing the work of these artists is because each piece is unique, given its complexity, each weaver offers one design at a time. The meaning of each one can tell us different stories, from expressions of nature to religious or political symbolism.