Beautiful Lake Atitlán is located in Guatemala’s highlands surrounded by perfectly conical volcanoes. From Panajachel, take a boat trip across the azure waters to the traditional villages of Santiago Atitlán and San Juan La Laguna, where colourfully dressed locals go about their daily routines, doing their washing on the banks of the lake, while fishermen catch their daily hauls.
The highland town of Chichicastenango, to the north of Lake Atitlán, holds one of the most famous and festive indigenous markets in Central America. Every Thursday and Sunday, hundreds of Mayan people from villages throughout the countryside gather at bustling Chichi, as it’s locally known, to sell and trade textiles, pottery and fresh produce, and to perform religious ceremonies, creating a hub of colour, sights and sounds.