Maya & Highland Culture: Atitlan, Markets & Weaving

Today you explore colonial Antigua, one of the loveliest cities in the Americas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With your guide you wander the grid of cobbled streets, lined with low pastel houses, flower-filled courtyards and grand baroque churches, many left as romantic ruins by the great earthquakes of the past. You take in the central Parque Central with its cathedral, the famous yellow arch of Santa Catalina framing Volcan Agua, and beautiful ruined convents such as Santo Domingo and La Merced. You visit a jade workshop and a traditional textile store or backstrap-weaving demonstration, learning about the crafts you will meet across the highlands. The beauty and atmosphere are captivating. As the day ends, you return to your hotel. This evening, savour Antigua's superb restaurants and relaxed charm. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey to Chichicastenango and Lake Atitlan.

Today you journey into the western highlands, taking in the great Maya market and the stunning crater lake. You drive up through beautiful mountain scenery to Chichicastenango, where (on Thursdays and Sundays) one of the most famous indigenous markets in the Americas fills the town with dazzling colour; you wander a labyrinth of stalls piled with handwoven textiles, masks, pottery and produce, and visit the whitewashed church of Santo Tomas, where Maya and Catholic ritual blend amid incense on its worn steps. You then continue to Lake Atitlan, descending to the shore of this stunning volcanic crater lake ringed by three soaring volcanoes and traditional Maya villages. As the day ends, you settle into your lakeside hotel, gazing over the deep blue water to the volcanoes. This evening, savour the beauty and calm of the lake. Rest well.

Today you explore the stunning crater lake of Atitlan and its living Maya culture by boat. You cross the deep blue water, ringed by soaring volcanoes, to visit the artistic village of San Juan La Laguna, where you meet a womens weaving cooperative and watch skilled weavers work the ancient backstrap loom, learning how threads are spun and dyed with natural colours from plants, seeds and cochineal, and perhaps try the loom yourself. You visit the painters galleries and medicinal-plant gardens of San Juan, and continue to Santiago Atitlan, the largest Tzutujil town, with its busy market, colonial church and the revered folk saint Maximon. The craft and living culture are captivating. As the day ends, you return to your lakeside hotel. This evening, watch the sunset paint the volcanoes. Rest well.

Today you enjoy a flexible day to relax and explore the stunning crater lake at your own pace. You might take a boat to more of the lakeside villages, such as San Pedro or San Marcos with its lakeside walk and calm bays, browse the craft market and lakeside cafes of Panajachel, or take a gentle guided walk along the shore or through coffee groves and cornfields, with ever-changing views of the volcanoes across the water. You could visit a local family or a cacao workshop, kayak on the calm morning water, or simply relax at your hotel gazing over the lake. The beauty and calm are captivating. As the day ends, you gather your impressions of the lake and its villages. This evening, enjoy the lakeside restaurants. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey deeper into the western highlands.

Today you journey deeper into the traditional western highlands, to Quetzaltenango. You drive through beautiful mountain scenery of volcanoes, milpa cornfields and Maya villages to Quetzaltenango, known to the Maya as Xela, the country's handsome second city, high in the highlands. With your guide you explore its dignified neoclassical centre, the grand Parque Centro America, its old cathedral and covered market, taking in the more workaday, authentic rhythm of highland life away from the tourist trail. Depending on timings, you might visit a nearby village, church or hot springs. The authentic highland atmosphere is captivating. As the day ends, you settle into your hotel in Xela, immersed in the traditional highlands. This evening, savour hearty highland cuisine and highland coffee. Rest well, for tomorrow you explore the great markets and villages of the region.

Today you immerse yourself in the authentic markets and villages of the western highlands. You visit the extraordinary market of San Francisco El Alto, one of the largest and most authentic in Guatemala, spilling across a hilltop town on Fridays with everything from textiles and produce to livestock, amid crowds of Maya traders in traditional dress. You explore surrounding villages, perhaps the famous church at San Andres Xecul with its astonishing yellow facade covered in painted saints and figures, or a village known for a particular craft, and take in the volcanic landscape and traditional Maya life all around. The colour, authenticity and scenery are captivating. As the day ends, you return to Quetzaltenango, having experienced the living highlands at their most genuine. This evening, reflect on your colourful journey through the Maya world. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow.

After a final morning in the highlands, you journey back through beautiful mountain scenery towards Guatemala City and La Aurora International Airport for your onward international departure (we time the drive comfortably around your flight). You leave having immersed yourself in the living Maya culture of Guatemala, colonial Antigua ringed by volcanoes, the dazzling market of Chichicastenango, the stunning crater lake of Atitlan and its weaving villages, and the authentic markets and communities of the western highlands, all warmed by the genuine warmth of the Guatemalan and Maya people. The images stay vivid long after you land, the colour of the highland markets, the volcanoes mirrored in Lake Atitlan, the weavers at their backstrap looms, and the churches where ancient and Christian ritual blend. Guatemala offers colour, culture and warmth in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return to this beautiful land.