a night on lake atitlan

Lake Atitlan is a magical place. Only a two hour drive from Antigua, it sits in the Western highlands of Guatemala, a mile above sea level. It is 1,120 feet deep (the deepest lake in Central America) and ringed by three volcanoes and many Mayan villages (each unique with it’s own traditional dress and each which deserves a day trip of it’s own). The lake is a truly majestic and stunning natural wonder. According to geological history, the area was once an immense volcanic mountain that blew it’s top off some 85,000 years ago in a massive explosion. It’s ashes and rocks are said to have been found as far south as Panama and had world wide climactic effects. Hence, today’s lake is actually the crater of a massive volcano. The word “Atitlan” is a Mayan word that translates as “the place where the rainbow gets its colors”. I can’t really imagine a more colorful place so rich with culture and history, natural beauty and grace, than Lake Atitlan.

Last week, my husband and I took our first overnight trip since our daughter Hazel was born 11 months ago. We hopped in the car with next to nothing {it’s crazy how little you need when you don’t tote kids along} and head off on a road trip. About two hours later we arrived at one of our favorite stops on Lake Atitlan – Villas B’alam Ya just outside of Panajachel.

Villas B’alam Ya is a destination in and of itself. Rather than a hotel, guests stay in their own house with perfect views of the lake. Each of the 4 houses are uniquely their own, gorgeously decorated and fully loaded. A night’s stay includes a full breakfast which is prepared for guests in the house’s kitchen and set up outside, overlooking the lake. The tiered landscaping of the property explodes with wild flowers and tropical plants, trees, wildlife and hand-layered rock pathways. There is a dock and a hot tub, kayaks and lounge chairs on the lawn at the lip of the lake. It’s completely private and may be one of the most rejuvenating places I have ever been to. This was our third visit to B’alam Ya (some photos included here were from our last trip with our kids and my mom) and like every other visit, we didn’t want to leave.

We were hardly gone for 36 hours but it felt like we were lost in our own little oasis for long enough to soak in the beauty of the lake and find inspiration everywhere. If you’re planning a trip to Guatemala, you absolutely have to make Lake Atitlan (and Villas B’alam Ya) a stop on your list.

I’ll leave you with this: Aldous Huxley famously wrote of it in his 1934 travel book Beyond the Mexique Bay: “Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing.”