Discover San Juan La Laguna

San Juan La Laguna offers different highlights for your trip: views of Lake Atitlán and several volcanoes, large-scale murals around town, and insights into local art, textile work, and the La Voz cooperative. If you’re looking for a hotel in San Juan La Laguna, these themes can help you decide what you’d like to focus on during your stay.

Getting There and Views

From Panajachel, the most common way to reach San Juan La Laguna is by boat across Lake Atitlán. Schedules and sailing conditions vary; check the times relevant to your visit in advance.

There are two named viewpoints with views of the lake and volcanoes. From Rostro Maya, you can see Lake Atitlán, the San Pedro, Tolimán, and Atitlán volcanoes, as well as the peaks of the Acatenango and Fuego volcanoes. Mirador Kaqasiiwaan is a park and viewpoint in the municipality of San Juan La Laguna. From there, you can look out over the lake and the town of San Juan. The walk to the viewpoint takes about 25 minutes. Rostro Maya therefore offers views of several named volcanoes, while Kaqasiiwaan combines a lake view with a view of the town.

Art and Townscape

The Museo a Cielo Abierto consists of large-scale murals on various streets around town. The murals tell the stories of people who have stood out through their work in San Juan La Laguna. One depicts the youth group Tz’utuj Q’ajom, whose traditional Maya music brings joy to people in town and to visitors.

Calle de los Sombreros, in the heart of San Juan La Laguna, also shapes the townscape: hats hang along the street, and there are works of art, including murals painted by local artists. Paseo de las Artes features artistic and cultural works on the shore of Lake Atitlán. The Catholic church in the heart of town stands out for its old stone façade; it was rebuilt as the population grew.

Cooperative, Textiles, and Local Topics

In November 1979, a group of men and women founded the La Voz Que Clama en el Desierto cooperative in the Maya Tzutujil town of San Juan La Laguna. Its café serves visitors 100% organic coffee. Check before your trip whether the café is currently operating. The cooperative’s history and its café offer different insights: one into its founding, the other into what is currently described as available to visitors.

Some women’s textile associations offer tours demonstrating the plants used for natural dyes and the dyeing of cotton yarn. The tours focus both on the plants used for the dyes and on a stage of working with cotton yarn. If you’re interested in these production processes, ask about the tours when planning your trip.

World of Mayan Bees focuses on native stingless bee species. The description calls these species endangered and identifies global and social impacts, as well as the spread of non-native bees, as threats. So, alongside art and textiles, bees and their conservation are another focus of a visit to San Juan La Laguna.

In the days leading up to the patron saint celebration in San Juan La Laguna, social, cultural, and religious activities take place. These include the election and coronation of Indigenous queens; the queen of the town receives the title “Ki Kotz'ij Aj Xekuku Aab'aj.” If you’d like to include this celebration in your travel plans, check the current dates in advance.

Sololá as a Regional Setting

In the wider destination of Sololá, Lake Atitlán lies in an ancient volcanic caldera that formed about 84,000 years ago. Boat trips on the lake offer views of volcanoes, mountains, and Maya villages along the shore. Public and private boats connect San Juan La Laguna, San Marcos La Laguna, Santa Cruz La Laguna, and Santiago Atitlán, among other lakeside towns. These lake connections provide the regional context for the boat trip from Panajachel to San Juan La Laguna.

Discover more destinations: Sololá, Panajachel, San Antonio Palopó, San Pedro La Laguna, Tzununa, Pasajquim, San Lucas Tolimán, Cerro de Oro.

Back to the main travel overview: Sololá.