News from Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

All the news and events around Lake Atitlan are being covered with individual pages for the major tourism towns and villages at the lake. The news from San Pedro, San Marcos and Panajachel are already online, with Santa Cruz and Jaibalito, Santiago and Tzununa on the way.

Besides news and weather, this site also provides travel tips about each area, such as the best hotels and hostels, restaurants and bars at Lake Atitlan.

Road to Panajachel Out of Service

December 14, 2010 - Closed since November, the road through Solola from the InterAmerican Highway will reopen December 21 for the holidays, then shut down again for more construction. Best way to Pana now is from San Pedro or Santiago, both easy to reach from Antigua.

After the Flood

December 7, 2010 - Most of the new docks remain underwater, and smaller ones have been substituted since the water level rose ten feet. It is now subsiding, but very slowly, and not expected to return to previous levels anytime soon.

Water Level Rises Dramatically

Since August, 2010, the water level at the lake has risen at least seven feet, due to incessant rain. It stopped (at least for now) the first week of October, but many of the new docks are underwater. This includes San Pedro, Panajachel, San Marcos, Santiago and Santa Cruz, which now rely on smaller docks. The photo below shows what was once Cafe la Puerta in San Pedro.

Many people with lakeshore property have lost signficant amounts of land, and several businesses have been forced to move or close. We will report more on this in the coming weeks and put up some before and after photos to show the dramatic changes.

Lake Atitlan after Agatha

June 15, 2010: It will take time to recover from the storm, but tourism facilities around most of the lake were relatively unaffected. Hotels and restaurants are open and have water and electricity, most of the debris in the lake has been removed, and the shuttles are running again from San Pedro and San Marcos to Antigua and Xela.

Some agencies are advising tourists to avoid the lake, but apparently they have not visited the top tourism towns and seen that the lake has bounced back and still one of the best vacation destinations in Guatemala.

Lake Atitlan Devastated by Agatha

June, 2010: The tropical storm that crushed Guatemala in June, 2010, resulted in loss of life and severe damage to many homes around Lake Atitlan. More than 70,000 people were left homeless, and thousands of survivors have no food and only the clothes they were wearing at the time.

It will take years to recover from Agatha, and your donations will help. See Donations for Lake Atitlan for links to groups that are collecting contributions for the Maya and other victims of the storm.