San Juan La Laguna – A Fun Artistic Pueblo
Exploring the pueblos of the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala has been a fun way for us to pass the time over the last two months. And although all of the pueblos have had their charms, one that we’ve come back to repeatedly is San Juan La Laguna, Atitlan’s artistic village.
And we’d like to show you why!
San Juan La Laguna – What’s the Appeal?
San Juan La Laguna has done an excellent job marketing itself as a community of indigenous artisans. And although there are a handful of other Atitlan pueblos who can also make this claim, San Juan has completely embraced this role and taken it to another level.
At its core, the artistic community of San Juan La Laguna is made up of painters, potters, apicultores (= beekeepers), and artist collectives specializing in the making of textiles and chocolate. And most of these artist communities are happy to give demonstrations explaining the processes involved in their craft.
And on top of this, San Juan La Laguna has other attractions as well!
One of the best miradores (= viewpoints) on all of Lake Atitlan, Mirador Kiaq’Aiswaan, is found here. Entire sections of the town have been beautified to encourage tourism, as well as to provide an ideal atmosphere for sales. And the town itself has a nice mix of reasonably priced non-artisan stores and restaurants that serve the day-to-day needs of both locals and tourists.
In other words, San Juan La Laguna has a broad appeal to just about everyone really.
All in a very pretty package.
And the cherry on top for us was that San Juan La Laguna is a reasonable walking distance from our residences at San Pedro La Laguna (3.6 km/2.2 miles) and San Pablo La Laguna (4.6 km/2.9 miles).
That said, let’s go on a tour!
The Main Town
San Juan La Laguna proper is a series of intersecting streets filled with stores and restaurants, both for locals as well as tourists. Especially on weekends, the place is teeming with life.
And when you turn a corner, you are often surprised by the ways the town has enhanced its visual appeal!
La Calle de las Artes
But just about everyone who comes to San Juan La Laguna really just wants to check out the Calle de las Artes (= street of the arts).
This is a beautiful street leading to the shore of Laka Atitlan, whose sole purpose is to display the wares for sale of the local artisans.
It really is a sight to behold.
The beginning of the street looks promising…
And has walls depicting the astrology of the Mayan calendar.
Descending down the street, things get even more colorful…
And busy with tourists looking for things to buy…
Local musicians entertain the crowd…
And even the street itself is a work of art!
The street eventually ends at the local embarcadero, where you can take a water taxi to other pueblos on Lake Atitlan.
There is a lovely mountain view from the pier!
Mirador Kiaq’Aiswaan
Many visitors to San Juan La Laguna only stick to the shopping opportunities described above. But those looking to get a workout, and enjoy a stunning 360-degree panoramic view of Lake Atitlan, go to Mirador Kiaq’Aiswaan
Walking north from San Juan La Laguna, you can see the mirador clearly.
At the entrance at the bottom of the hill, we paid the 30 quetzales/$3.83 USD per non-local person entrance fee…
And walked for 20 minutes up the STEEP stairway to the top of the mirador. The vertical death march up the steps was brutal, but we made it to the top!
At the top, a stone-paved path leads past vendors in the direction of the mirador.
The mirador itself is a work of art…
And we were rewarded with shockingly beautiful views…
And there were food, drink, and souvenir vendors at the summit as well. There was even entertainment…
And random opportunities to take pictures with gallos (= roosters)…
And with very large gringos!
The entrance fee for Mirador Kiaq’Aiswaan was a bit steep by Lake Atitlan mirador standards, but honestly, it was 100% worth it!
If you were so inclined, you could buy drinks and food, sit at one of the many benches at the summit, and spend the day there.
We had a really great time and spent quite a while at Mirador Kiaq’Aiswaan. And the locals were so friendly, perhaps due to the common suffering experienced by everyone having to climb to the top!
Bottom Line, San Juan La Laguna Is a Great Place to Visit!
We strongly recommend that you visit San Juan La Laguna! You could spend multiple afternoons here easily (as we did), but this would have also been a great pueblo to live in if we had another month to spend in the Lake Atitlan area.
So if you plan on visiting Lake Atitlan, be sure to make time to check out San Juan La Laguna!
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6 thoughts on “San Juan La Laguna – A Fun Artistic Pueblo”
A day of rest would be good, now!! The 25th is coming…
Agreed!
Enjoying your blog
Excellent! We’re happy to have you aboard.
I love how much color there is in the communities.
Guatemala is a cornucopia of colors. Especially in indigenous communities.