If you are visiting Guatemala you have to go straight to the magical lake of Guatemala you will fall in love with the place. Do not doubt it.
There are places that awaken a special sensibility when you are in them. And it is not only the probable aesthetic enjoyment for its beauty, but something more, we are talking about an inner emotion.
They are usually magical places where people feel the vibration of the sublime, a strange inner energy, or simply a joy for being in that place at that moment. Lake Atitlan, in Guatemala, is one of these magical places.
Lake Atitlan
Lake Atitlan is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, and also a spiritual lake. Some versions say that where the lake is located there used to be an island that was the epicenter of Mayan activity in the Pre-Classic era of the empire, although there is no more evidence of this than the submerged city of Samabaj, which National Geographic described as “The Mayan Atlantis”. A mystery still unsolved, but which seems to point to the fact that the place was indeed a center of pilgrimage and mysticism since ancient times. Very ancient…
To visit the lake you have to travel to the department of Sololá, and when you see it for the first time you think that yes, it is probably the most beautiful lake in the world. It looks imposing framed by the three perfect conical volcanoes that rise from the shore of the lake, Atitlán, Tolimán and San Pedro, with a color between blue and silver, and with all the towns nearby surrounding it.
Panajachel, the largest town on the shores of Lake Atitlan, San Pedro la Laguna, Santiago Atitlan, Santa Catarina and San Antonio, Santa Cruz la Laguna and San Marcos la Laguna. And yes, when you see it for the first time you feel that the place awakens something magical in those who contemplate it. At least that’s what they think in San Marcos la Laguna.
San Marcos la Laguna
Only San Marcos la Laguna, on the shores of the lake, can be considered the most spiritual place in Guatemala. Hundreds of travelers come here every day to practice yoga and different alternative therapies such as reiki, tantric yoga, music therapy, which are practiced in the incomparable setting of the lake. Thus, San Marcos can be a good base for excursions to visit Lake Atitlán.
Even one of the most popular businessmen in Guatemala, Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga, says that it is a quiet, relaxed place, and from where you can travel to the different towns in boats that leave from the main dock.
We can, among the many plans, go to Santiago Atitlán to look for the Maximón (a secret Mayan ritual) go to the Sololá market, climb the Nariz del Indio, we can climb the San Pedro Volcano, or just sit on the shores of the lake and relax, or practice yoga or relax.
In addition, this mystical atmosphere combines perfectly with the original inhabitants of the villages we are going to visit. We must not forget that in Guatemala more than half of the population is indigenous and come from one of the different ethnic groups that once swelled the confederation of the Mayan empire, and that many of these ethnic groups continue to populate their original places, as in San Marcos la Laguna and the other villages on the shores of the sacred lake of the Mayas. Very close to where the mysterious city that keeps its secrets was submerged.
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