Guatemala · Sololá, Quiché and Chimaltenango

Atitlán
& Chichicastenango.

San Pedro volcano, the Atitlán Nature Reserve, Chichicastenango and Iximché.

4 places
1 open
3 unconfirmed
checked Oct 2026
13 sources

Before you go,
understand the place.

Lake Atitlán, in Sololá, brings together San Pedro volcano, whose park is run by the Municipality of San Pedro La Laguna, and the Atitlán Nature Reserve, next to Panajachel.

Best time to go: According to the United Kingdom, the rainy season normally runs from May to November, with frequent flooding and landslides; poorly maintained roads and bridges have been known to collapse.
Getting there: This guide does not calculate road routes or travel times. Iximché is in Tecpán, beside the CA-1, according to CONAP. From Panajachel to Guatemala City, Atitrans runs a daily shuttle with a bus change and a one-hour wait in Antigua; its page gives both «approximately 6.5 hours» and «approximately 4.5 hours» for the trip (Atitrans website, undated). The lake towns are linked by boat: see the tips.

Get your bearings before you set out

Destination map

4 places with their status. Open a pin for details and sources, or use the list.

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Open
Status unconfirmed

Groups: the number in the middle is the total of places; the ring shows their statuses. Open a group to see the breakdown.

The “Open and seasonal” filter covers open (1) and seasonal (0) places. Check dates and conditions on each place.

Map: © Stadia Maps © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap

Two ways to explore

Themed guides

Places grouped by theme, to plan your day.

2 places
Lake Atitlán
San Pedro volcano, with unconfirmed hours and fee, and the Atitlán Nature Reserve, which publishes its hours and fee on its website.
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2 places
Chichicastenango and Iximché
The Santo Tomás church and Chichicastenango market, and the Iximché archaeological site in Tecpán; none has confirmed visiting hours.
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The place, in context

Everything you can do

Closed or restricted places are included and flagged, so you know what to expect.

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Showing 4 of 4 · 3 unconfirmed, flagged

Nature and jungle · 2

AdventureStatus unconfirmed
San Pedro volcano
San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá. According to CONAP, the entrance and visitor centre are 1.5 km from the town. The pin is the volcano's summit in OpenStreetMap, linked to its Wikidata entry: it stands for the volcano, not the entrance.21.5 km in a straight line from the regional map centre
Entry
Not confirmed
Hours
Not confirmed
Booking
Not stated
A 3,020 m volcano above Lake Atitlán. According to CONAP, the park is run by the Municipality of San Pedro La Laguna, tourism is handled by the San Pedro La Laguna Guides' Association and the climb takes about 4 hours.
Status not confirmed with the Municipality of San Pedro La Laguna: the hours come from CONAP's listing, with no visible date, which asks you to contact the administration before going. guatemala.com (7 April 2026) reports robberies on the trail, including by fake guides, and recommends going with official guides or operators.
Source: CONAP – Cuenca del Lago de Atitlán: Volcán San Pedro · 2026 · +2
Practical details and sources
Entry
Q50 per person with access to the official trail, according to guatemala.com (7 April 2026), with the guide paid separately. Not confirmed with the Municipality.
Hours
Monday to Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., according to CONAP; outside those hours, only with authorisation.
Tip: The local cooperative Atitur offers this excursion, with a boat transfer from Panajachel, entry and guide included, from age 12; minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult. According to Atitur, it requires good health and stamina, is not suitable for people with heart conditions or reduced mobility, and it recommends booking at least 72 hours ahead.
Nearby: Atitlán Nature Reserve (14.9 km)
Sources: CONAP – Cuenca del Lago de Atitlán: Volcán San Pedro · guatemala.com – Parque Ecológico Volcán San Pedro (7 abr. 2026) · Atitur R.L. – Volcán San Pedro (consulta oct. 2026)
NatureOpen
Atitlán Nature Reserve
Panajachel, Sololá. The pin is the reserve's node in OpenStreetMap; it is not the entrance.6.6 km in a straight line from the regional map centre
Entry
Adult Q80
Hours
Every day 8:00–17:00
Booking
Not stated
A private reserve next to Panajachel, on the former San Buenaventura estate, with trails, hanging bridges, a coati viewing deck, a butterfly house, playgrounds and its own lake shore, according to its website.
Source: Reserva Natural Atitlán – Atracciones (consulta oct. 2026) · 2026
Practical details and sources
Entry
Adults Q80; under-12s Q45. It covers the trails, hanging bridges, coati deck, butterfly house, playgrounds and private shore, and is included for guests of the reserve or anyone taking the zip-line tour (reserve website).
Hours
Every day, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (reserve website).
Nearby: San Pedro volcano (14.9 km)
Sources: Reserva Natural Atitlán – Atracciones (consulta oct. 2026)

Living culture · 2

CultureStatus unconfirmed
Santo Tomás church and Chichicastenango market
Central Chichicastenango, Quiché. The pin marks the Santo Tomás church in OpenStreetMap; the market has no pin of its own.16 km in a straight line from the regional map centre
Entry
Not stated
Hours
Not confirmed
Booking
Not stated
Two separate things in the centre of Chichicastenango (Quiché): the Santo Tomás church and the town market. INGUAT's festival directory (2017) gives Sunday and Thursday as market days.
The sources consulted give no visiting hours for the church or the market. The market days (Sunday and Thursday) come from INGUAT's 2017 festival directory; check them before you go.
Source: INGUAT – Directorio de fiestas: días de mercado (2017) · 2017 · +1
Practical details and sources
Hours
INGUAT's festival directory (2017) places the Chichicastenango market on Sundays and Thursdays.
Tip: INGUAT's tourist information office in Chichicastenango (8.ª calle Calvario 1-99, zone 1) gives Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Santo Tomás festival runs from 13 to 21 December, according to the 2017 directory.
Sources: INGUAT – Directorio de fiestas: días de mercado (2017) · INGUAT – Oficina de información turística de Chichicastenango
CultureStatus unconfirmed
Iximché National Park
Tecpán Guatemala, Chimaltenango. According to CONAP, the turn-off is at km 88 of the CA-1, followed by 3 km of paved road. The pin is the site according to Wikidata, inside the protected area in OpenStreetMap; it is not the entrance.16.1 km in a straight line from the regional map centre
Entry
Last known: 2019
Hours
Not confirmed
Booking
Not stated
An archaeological site in Tecpán (Chimaltenango), declared a national park in 1963 and run by the Ministry of Culture's Directorate-General for Cultural and Natural Heritage, according to CONAP.
Status not confirmed with the Ministry of Culture: the hours come from CONAP's listing, with no visible date, and the sources consulted give no current fee. Check before you go.
Source: CONAP – Parque Nacional Iximché · 2026 · +1
Practical details and sources
Entry
No current fee is published in the sources consulted. INGUAT's 2019 accessible tourism guide gave Q50 for foreign visitors and Q5 for Guatemalans.
Hours
Monday to Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to CONAP.
Sources: CONAP – Parque Nacional Iximché · INGUAT – Guía de turismo accesible (2019)

Atitlán & Chichicastenango · Practical guide

The essentials

The Atitlán Nature Reserve, with published hours and fees
Climbing San Pedro volcano with a guide
The Santo Tomás church and Chichicastenango market

Atitlán & Chichicastenango · Practical guide

Where to stay

Panajachel: The usual base on the lake and the departure point for boats to San Pedro and San Juan, according to Living in Guatemala (September 2026).
San Pedro La Laguna: The starting town for San Pedro volcano; according to the United Kingdom, local authorities there may ask for your original passport or a certified copy.

Atitlán & Chichicastenango · Practical guide

Practical tips

Boats, according to Living in Guatemala (September 2026): the San Juan Bautista boatmen's association publishes Q25 on its Panajachel–San Juan route, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. from Panajachel and 6:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from San Juan, not covering San Pedro or Santiago; for Panajachel–San Pedro, Q25 is the usual tourist fare according to AtitlanVida, with no official fare confirmed in the sources consulted. Living in Guatemala also cites service ending between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. in INGUAT’s Panajachel 2020–2023 plan; this is a historical reference, not a confirmed current last departure. In January 2026 a boat on the Panajachel–San Juan route capsized in high wind and two tourists died; INGUAT recommended wearing a life jacket.
For San Pedro volcano, CONAP asks you to contact the administration before going; the climb takes about 4 hours.
In Chichicastenango, the INGUAT information office is on 8.ª calle Calvario and closes on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Safety and precautions

According to the United Kingdom (advice current on 3 October 2026), Guatemala has one of the highest violent crime rates in Latin America, and incidents can also happen in tourist areas.
Spain (update of 8 May 2026) lists among the risk areas to avoid zones 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 18 of Guatemala City, Villa Nueva and Mixco, and the departments of San Marcos, Huehuetenango, Escuintla, Petén and Izabal; it rates the rest of the country as medium risk and warns that there are no completely safe areas.
According to the United Kingdom, PROATUR advises avoiding the Godínez bypass (Patzún) between the capital and Panajachel and, if possible, the road between Cocales and San Lucas Tolimán; boats between lake towns may be a safer alternative.
According to the United Kingdom, carrying ID is a legal requirement; a copy of your passport photo page is usually enough, although in San Pedro La Laguna local authorities may require the original or a certified copy. Do not photograph people without permission, especially children: in remote areas there have been attacks linked to fears of kidnapping.
Before climbing a volcano, the United Kingdom advises checking with INSIVUMEH and CONRED: there is no mountain rescue service and local organisers tend to underestimate the risks. Spain reports occasional robberies on the climbs of Pacaya, Santa María and Agua, and recommends doing them in a group, by day and with a professional guide.
The US Department of State advises reconsidering travel to Guatemala because of crime and terrorism (level 3, advisory issued on 12 March 2026). It advises against travel to the departments of San Marcos and Huehuetenango, zone 18 of Guatemala City and Villa Nueva (level 4).
According to the Ministry of the Interior, a 15-day state of prevention came into force on 21 April 2026 in the departments of Guatemala, Escuintla, Izabal, San Marcos and Huehuetenango (Government Decree 6-2026). This guide does not confirm whether one is in force now: check the current situation before you travel.
INGUAT tourist assistance: 1500, free and 24 hours. National Civil Police: 110 and 120.

Frequently asked questions

Can you climb San Pedro volcano without a guide?

According to CONAP, tourism there is handled by the San Pedro La Laguna Guides' Association; guatemala.com (April 2026) says a local guide is mandatory. This is not confirmed with the Municipality.

Which days is the Chichicastenango market?

Sunday and Thursday, according to INGUAT's 2017 festival directory. Check before you go.

How much is the Atitlán Nature Reserve?

Q80 for adults and Q45 for under-12s; it opens every day from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., according to its website.

Atitlán & Chichicastenango · Practical guide

Sources consulted

Information checked in October 2026. Prices, hours and rules change: confirm them with the official source before you travel.

Before you go,understand the place.

Themed guides

Lake Atitlán

Chichicastenango and Iximché

Everything you can do

Nature and jungle · 2

San Pedro volcano

Atitlán Nature Reserve

Living culture · 2

Santo Tomás church and Chichicastenango market

Iximché National Park

The essentials

Where to stay

Practical tips

Safety and precautions

Frequently asked questions

Sources consulted

Other destinations

Before you go,
understand the place.