Guatemala Highlights

Lake Atitlán is one of the world's most beautiful lakes — a volcanic caldera lake in the Guatemalan highlands, surrounded by three volcanoes (Atitlán, Tolimán, and San Pedro) and a dozen indigenous Maya villages, each with its own distinct culture, textile traditions, and market day. Aldous Huxley called it "the most beautiful lake in the world" in 1934, and the description still holds. The lake is 340 metres deep — the deepest in Central America — and the combination of the volcanic peaks, the indigenous villages, and the extraordinary light of the Guatemalan highlands makes it one of the most atmospheric destinations in the Americas.

The Chichicastenango market is the largest indigenous market in Central America — held every Thursday and Sunday in the highland town of Chichicastenango, it draws Maya traders from across the Guatemalan highlands selling textiles, masks, ceramics, flowers, incense, and food. The market fills the streets around the 16th-century Santo Tomás church, where Maya shamans perform rituals on the church steps — a remarkable fusion of Maya and Catholic traditions. The colours, the smells, the sounds, and the extraordinary diversity of goods make it one of the most atmospheric markets in the world.