Top Western Highlands Art & Culture

Take a journey through the traditions of Mayan spirituality as you experience a 2-hour traditional fire-cleansing ceremony with a guide in the Sacred Caves of Lake Atitlan. Step inside these mystical caves, used by local Mayans for many centuries, to observe the performance of this holy and powerful ritual by a local shaman. Listen as your guide explains the history and traditions behind the ritual and provides insight into the Mayan calendar system. Before you leave, you’ll have time to admire the gorgeous views of the lake down below.

An awesome way to go exploring around Lake Atitlan, this sunset ATV adventure tour takes you up into the mountains around the caldera lake—formed after a volcanic eruption over 1.8-million years ago—before heading down to the shore for a swim. You’ll also explore local villages and colorful towns, learn about the fascinating culture of the region, watch paragliders soar through the skies, and find the best spot for sunset.

Have you wanted to visit the towns around Lake Atitlan but don't you dare to go on your own? If what you are looking for is to understand the meaning of the living Mayans' traditions and customs, in addition, to learn from them their ancestral practices such as weaving techniques, natural dyeing of fabrics, the importance of chocolate and natural medicine, then we got your back. Join this collective tour and have fun while learning that and much more! We'll take you to discover 3 cultural towns on a boat ride that’ll give you insight into the heart of the Mayan culture. The local Mayans say that Lake Atitlan holds unique energy fields that run through the area. Whether you feel the vibes or not, there’s no denying that this lake is a special place.

Led by local women, this cultural tour of Santa Cruz la Laguna offers a fascinating insight into Maya life on Lake Atitlan and how the ancient traditions can still be seen in modern Guatemala. Arriving in Santa Cruz by boat, you'll meet the women at the dock and walk up to the town, where you'll visit a home for a cooking class, learn about local handicrafts, and relax with a steam bath in a traditional adobe temazcal.

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.

The Indian Nose is a Peak known for having the appearance of a person's face looking up at the sky. It is known as Rostro Maya in Spanish and its original name is in Tzutujil, one of the Mayan languages ​​ around the lake. We`ll take you to the highest point of the peak so you can spend some time appreciating the beauty of the lake and the towns around it, take some pictures, and breathe fresh air. To close with a flourish, we`ll take you to a place by the lake where you`ll have the chance to cliff diving in the clear waters of the lake! Make sure you don`t forget your swimsuit as you`ll need it. This tour is a different way of appreciating and enjoying Lake Atitlan. Don't miss this fascinating tour.

Veer from the well-trodden tourist path and discover traditional Mayan culture on a full-day tour from Antigua. Round-trip transportation from your hotel spares you the white-knuckled stress of riding on a public bus. Together with your guide, visit three Mayan villages and learn about the unique way of life from the people who live there. The excursion also includes some of Guatemala’s natural beauty, with a boat ride around Lake Atitlan.

Sit alongside local women and learn the art of Maya beading with this hands-on workshop in Santa Cruz la Laguna. Not only is this socially responsible tour a great way to learn about the Maya cultures found on Lake Atitlan, but it also directly benefits local communities. Upgrade to include lunch at Lake Atitlan’s top restaurant—also run by a social enterprise—or a community-led tour of the village.

Immerse yourself in the ancient rituals and colorful culture of the Mayans during this 7-hour trip to Chichicastenango and its famous market. Discover the wealth of handicrafts, produce, herbal medicines and more for sale at this traditional indigenous market. Then spend time exploring the town’s museums, cemetery, colorful murals and Mayan heritage, including a chance to observe a Fire Cleansing Ceremony performed by a local shaman. Your trip also covers round-trip hotel transport from Panjachel.

Through the funds from this workshop you are providing fair pay to your artisan teacher and helping our artisan-owned association continue to pay for our storefront location. Our storefront location gives us an outlet to share our tradition with others while providing for our families!

If you are visiting Lake Atitlán, this is one of the best tours to learn more about its towns and interact with the local culture. This tour is special since we will take you to know little frequented towns and with great beauty! The first 3 towns: Santa Cruz, Jaibalito & Tzununa are full of nature and you can be in contact with it, learn about the local culture and breathe fresh air. Then, we will go to San Juan La Laguna. During our visit to San Juan, we will do the chocolate tour, learn about the natural dyeing of textiles, and Mayan honey. Lunch is included. Don't worry about anything, take your camera and enjoy it to the fullest!

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.

Guatemala is known for being "The Heart of the Mayan World" and has a great legacy of the indigenous cultures that lived here many centuries ago. On this tour, we´ll appreciate THE LIVING MAYAN CULTURE, learn about their textiles and the meaning behind the colors and the figures we see on their traditional clothing, learn about the chocolate that centuries ago was served to the gods and that in this tour we´ll have the opportunity to taste, as well as the religious syncretism between the Christianity and the Mayan religion. There´s so much more that you will do and enjoy during this tour, including a delicious lunch close to the lake. Believe us, this experience of knowing 3 cultural towns around the lake will be something spectacular. Do not miss it!

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.

This tour starts in Panajachel where we pick up the people who are staying at the hotels in Panajachel and on the way to Santa Catarina. We also pick up at the Tzanjuyu dock. The tour starts in Panajachel where we will tour the museum of photographs, then we will go to the villages of Santa catarian to visit the colonial church, cultural center where we will learn the history of the town history of traditional costumes, then we will continue to santa catarina palopo to learn about the manufacture of ceramics, crafts made by people, view of the vegetable market, then If we find ourselves on a sunny day we will have the best sunsets of the lake with the fall of the sun on the volcanoes

Walk the Face of the Earth on the Sacred Path of the Sun: Author & lecturer Vincent Stanzione has opened his mountain home in an exclusive arrangement to offer an amazing experience. This experience will enable you to enter the Maya world in truly authentic ways. It allows visitors to learn about the Maya Civilization by entering the Maya World of the Present Day. Let us take you to places nobody but the Maya ever go while learning all you can from a researcher and writer who is hungry to share the world he has made his home. Guiding enables those of us who have attained a great deal of knowledge to share it with others in a direct way. So take a walk with Vincent along the flowery paths during this fascinating day in the highlands, high above Lake Atitlan. Learn about the Maya and the Mesoamerican traditions, their cosmo-magical thinking, their calendar, the way of living in the world, their myths and their deep sense of being the descendants of divine ancestors.

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.

Visit three Mayan villages around Lake Atitlan—Santiago Atitlan, San Juan la Laguna, and Panajachel—on this guided all-day tour from San Pedro La Laguna. Witness the lifestyle of the Mayan people, learn their techniques for making and dyeing textiles, and experience the local way of life as you wander the bustling markets.

This is a community tour that starts from Panajachel we will take a private boat that will take us to the first town where you will meet women weavers that the guide will explain the whole process from cotton to clothing using natural plants to obtain different natural colors, then the guide will take you to a chocolate factory where you will be able to taste and see the elaboration of various products made from cocoa to chocolate and to continue learning with the local people you will visit a group of women who work with plants to treat different types of diseases Also on the tour you visit the vegetable market, colonial churches, parks among others. This tour is conducted by people from the community who speak Spanish, English and Mayan

On this tour, you'll know one of the biggest attractions of Chichicastenango that is the market and be delighted with its diversity. You will learn about the local Mayan culture, history and art told by a unique guide who is a local artisan. Contemplate an extraordinary art in a "Morería" is also an incredible museum. Spend the day in one of Guatemala's most must-see attractions and enjoy everything Chichicastenango has for you.

Immerse yourself in traditional Mayan culture during an overnight homestay near Panajachel. The 15-hour experience is a great way to help support local communities in Guatemala. Your hosts, who are part of the Kakchiquel group, are happy to show you around the village and introduce you to their customs. In addition to one night of accommodation, you also enjoy a traditional breakfast and dinner prepared by your host mother.

During this tour, we will take you to know 3 different towns. You will explore the largest market in Guatemala, will go to the most colorful church, and end the tour by going to a small but lovely town. Each location holds something special that we want to show you and hope you like it as much as we do or even more. The first place to visit will be San Francisco El Alto and its market which is the largest one in Guatemala. Usually, it takes around 6 hours to go through all of it (that is not the case on this tour, we will be there just a fraction of all that time). Then, we will visit the famous church of San Andrés Xecul, an icon of Guatemala and a representation of religious syncretism. In the end, we will visit Salcajá, a small but very charming town with lots of history and beautiful places to visit. This is a tour you don´t want to miss, so reserve your ticket, and we will take you to one of the greatest traveling experiences of them all.