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Pro
Market, excuse to take a boat ride from Pana
Con
cant remember ;)
In a nutshell
A definite day-trip from Panajachel
Iglesia Parroquial Santiago Apostol
toonsarah Says: This large church, dedicated to Saint James the Apostle, dominates the far side of the Parque Central, set back from it on the far side of an open space. It was built between 1572 and 1581, and has been restored and reconstructed several times after significant earthquake...
toonsarah Says: Towards the top of Santiago’s main street a left turn will take you to the market area. You can’t miss it – the stalls spill out on to the street and many traders simply sit at the edge of the street with their produce displayed on an upturned box or on a cloth laid out on...
toonsarah Says: Beyond the market you will come to Santiago’s main square, called (like such squares in most Spanish colonial towns throughout Latin America) the Parque Central. Today it is a peaceful spot. A few old men dose on the benches, wearing their traditional short stripy trousers....
jessieth Says: I know visiting Maximon is THE touristy thing to do in Santago Atitlan, but I have some distinct reservations. 1. Housing Maximon and receiving a significant cut of the fees for picture taking etc is lucritive enough that there have been major battles over who gets the...
Pablo's Kitchen: Truely personal service and great food
jessieth Says: Pablo is an American from Colorado that spends the winters in Santiago and runs a small restaurant, during the winter only, out of his home on a side path just south of the Hospitalito Atitlan's temproary location. Outside of the Posada, which has heavenly food, and maybe...
El Pescador: Seafood doesn't get more fresh then this
DLish Says: The food at the Pescador is amazingly fresh, and totally yummy. We all had some version of fish. Mine was a black bass fillet in a wine sauce, which was utterly to die for. Another dish was a fresh fried fish, with saffron rice, fresh guacamole, and sumptuous root veggies...
toonsarah Says: There are three ways to get to Santiago Atitlàn: private boat hire, public ferry, or a tour. We chose the public ferry which is the cheapest option and takes about 30 minutes from Panajachel. The fare was 25 Q per person each way. One advantage of the ferries is that you...
Hopkid Says: If you're staying in another village around the lake you might take a ferry to get to Santiago Atitlan. We stayed in Pana but used the ferry to get to Santiago. One of my lasting memories of our trip was the young man yelling out "Panajachel, Pana!" in an effort to attract...
various: Shopping for handicrafts
toonsarah Says: The main street here is lined with shops selling all sorts of hand-crafted items – textiles galore, wood carvings, paintings, decorations, leather goods and more. The quality seemed to me to be on the whole pretty good, and the prices reasonable if you’re happy to haggle a...
Hopkid Says: Disappointed that the local market doesn't have any craft vendors? Well fear not as the main street that goes up from the ferry dock into the heart of the city is lined with shops that sell wooden masks, colorful textiles, and authentic huipils, the handwoven blouses that...
toonsarah Says: Santiago has a distinctive style of local dress, as do many of the Maya-dominated towns of Guatemala. The women wear huipiles, usually with a pale blue background, on which are darker vertical stripes. Between the stripes there are often colourful tropical birds, though...
toonsarah Says: A visit to the Mayan idol, Maximón, is a highlight of any trip to Santiago Atitlàn. Unlike many such figures, you won’t find him in a church or other place of worship, but in a family home. It is a great honour among local families to act as Maximón’s host, and also a great...
JessieLang Says: Maximon is a Mayan saint or deity, and people come to him for blessings. This particular Maximon was carved by the young shaman, Nicolas. Most of the people visiting this village have come to see Maximon. Nicolas travels around the country with him to visit people who can’t...
JessieLang Says: Each village has its own distinctive dress, and the women of Santiago wear a headdress that consists of a very long strip of thick fabric that is wrapped around and around. They demonstrated how they put it on, and they can do it very quickly. (See additional photos)
Hopkid Says: No trip to Santiago Atitlan would be complete without a visit to Maximon. Considered to be a combination of things including Mayan gods and Spanish and Biblical historical figures, Maximon is a deity much revered by the people in this town. His location various as he is...
Hopkid Says: In October 2005, a large landslide buried the village of Punabaj on the northern outskirts of Santiago Atitlan. Approxiately 600 villages, mainly Sutujil indians, lost their lives. Many of the bodies were never recovered and still remain under the large sheet of hardened mud...
acemj Says: If you've made is to Santiago Atitlán, you're already off the beaten path, but you can get farther off the path if you'd like. After Panajachel, San Pedro and San Marcos, Santiago Atitlán is probably the most visited of the towns around the lake. There are a plenty of other...
acemj Says: Up near the town center, there appeared to be a schoolyard. There was an old, dilapidated stage of some sort that I climbed up and watched these kids playing soccer on a basketball court. Hey, this is Central America, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. It wasn't...
Hopkid Says: Upon your arrival by boat you will be surrounded by locals offering to take you around town to see the sights. There aren't that many but if it's a bit rainy like it was the day we arrived, it's probably worth it to hire a tuk-tuk to take you around because (a) they know...
acemj Says: My buddy Ryan were in Santiago Atitlán for less than two hours, but it was a fun and focused time. We were on a mission- our main motivation for visiting being to visit the infamous Mayan "saint", Maximón. Having read about him in my Rough Guide, it was cool to make the...
Plan a Santiago Atitlán vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Santiago Atitlán locals
Xkap is the name of the band of red cloth that is wrapped around the head of the woman.
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An encounter with an ancient idol
If you only have time to visit one of the towns and villages on the shores of Lake Atitlàn, it should really be Santiago Atitlàn. Add to its beautiful setting nestled between two of the lake’s...
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Santiago Atitlán and the rum-loving saint
Santiago Atitlán is a small town on the southern shore of Lake Atitlán. It is the capital of the Tzutujil Maya Nation and the local population is 95% made up of people of Mayan descent. Traditional......
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Traditional Tz'utujil Mayan Town
Santiago Atitlan is located on the south side of Lake Atitlan across from Panajachel. It's situated on the east shore of an inlet that formed between Volcan de San Pedro and the sister volcanoes of......
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Give me your Beer, your Liquor...
Maximon, San Simon, Rilaj Maam.... Best known as Maximon, this wooden depiction of San Simon is a combination of Catholic and indigenous traditions.... Its the star attraction of tiny Santiago de...
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In the Atitlan Lake in front of Panajachel lies Santiago, the biggest and most important town in the lake...
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