The Tale of Lake Atitlan | Part 2 - Volcanos, Breakfast & Hot Baths

This adventure began on our second day and when the alarm tore us out of our comfy beds at 2.30am; like zombies we changed and made our way sleepily to meet our guide in town for 3am, and the start of 'the' hike...

Sunrise on Volcano San Pedro…(a tough mudder trekker) 

Volcano San Pedro Lake Atitlan

Starting at 3am meant no magic tuk tuk to the park entrance, so we therefore optionally lengthened our trek by 25 minutes each way in hope that the spectacular sunrise would be worth every extra step.

So we started the trek up the cobbled streets of San Pedro, up the smooth main road, before walking off road onto the trail at the park entrance; torches were at the ready and fingers were crossed for no snake or tarantula encounters.

The trail consisted of large rocks, muddy track and wooden steps, I am not sure which was better now I think of it, probably the steps although at time it all felt rather difficult.
So I won’t go on about how sweaty, out of breathe and how hard I found the whole thing*, but I will say something quite obvious, which apparently didn’t seem so at the time of booking, that this is a Volcano trek. So unless you know of some fan-dangled unqiue volcano that is flat or goes downwards, you can expect a long trek up, and only up. After 3 hours, I did want to cry, I smelled pretty bad and actually I had started not to care whether I ever saw a sunrise ever again.

*We have done a lot of treks during our travels so far, including a 6,088m mountain with an ice axe and crampons, the 4 day Machu Picchu Jungle trek and the 5 day Lost City Trek in Colombia, but bloody hell, this was hard. So be warned. 

But then it happened, our guide Santos spoke those words… “just 20 minutes”. A revelation to my boyfriend, rather a disappointment to me, who had wanted to hear “2 minutes, it’s just around the corner next door to Starbucks and a pile of cash”. But hey, you win some, you lose some. Finally those dreaded, mossy, even muddier steps took us to that mirador, that view spot we’d worked so hard for and that sunrise we’d talked so greatly of after walking to 3,200m…so was it worth it?

Yes. All in all it was one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. A “Buena vista” as Santos quite rightly said and what a vista it was.
Like the picture from a fairytale book, the orange light of the sun rose behind the volcanos as the wispy clouds creeped over like smoke. And the lake, it was perfectly still, like a mirror, beautifully reflecting the blue morning sky, clouds, volcanoes and all the green in between…then I woke up and it was all a dream.

Ha, I wish. No, it was then that reality hit, we got bloody cold, ate some snacks and realized we had to walk all the way back down.

So with shaky, tired legs and doubt of our motives in mind, we started the great decent. But unlike a nightmare, we couldn’t just wake up so we plodded along, enjoying the jungle in the light of day. So much greenery, the crater and upper paths spend most of the time hiding in the clouds, and therefore are full of life, even the tree trunks are covered in moss, mushrooms growing everywhere, a fairytale forest for certain, minus the fairies and goblins.

Finally we made it down to the park entrance, we had triumphed, made it for sunrise and the relief flooded over us, knowing we only had 20 more minutes before we could pass out. Unfortunatley for those intrepid hikers we passed on our way down, they had left too late, at the 6am start, and by the time they would reach the summit, the clouds would have reclaimed the volcano, concealing the unebelievable views we had been so lucky to witness.

TOP TIP: As painful as it is, if you are determined to see sunrise or at least a decent view of the lake leave at 3am before the clouds return. 

A hard walk, not for the faint-hearted, or those who think they maintain some residual fitness but apparently do not. Tripadvisor will say the same, many claiming they found it harder than expected but you will feel fantastic afterwards at what you have achieved and for what you can keep in your memory forever, that priceless view over the fairytale Lake Atitlan.

Gold at the end of the rainbow…

Our reward for such a feat? Starting early means finishing early, we were back in time for Casa Atitlan’s delicious breakfast and coffee. The perfect refuel, followed by an afternoon of snoozing, reading and aimlessly wondering the town before stopping at Gabby’s sub shop for a feast and a fresh pineapple smoothie.

HOT, (like REALLY hot) Thermal Baths 

But why end the fairytale there, that evening, when our legs felt weary and our bodies tired, we booked ourselves in at the local Thermal Baths next door to the Buddha Bar. (Q40pp, book at least 30 minutes in advance).

On our way to the Thermal Baths we bought ourselves a bottle of red wine, which came with some classy polystyrene cups and made our way to an evening of relaxation.

Thermal Bath at Lake Atitlan

If you are used to award winning spas, you will be disappointed but the experience was pretty great, so stop being a prim and give it a go.
Beginning on the scalding side of things, it took some time before we could actually sit in the baths but with a view of the lake, candles when the sun set and just being outside was a fantastic experience. It’s rustic, raw yet romantic.

Take a drink with you and just enjoy the whole experience. We stayed for a couple of hours before heading to the Buddha Bar for a final San Pedro supper, but we loved the baths, getting pruney and chatting away about our long and exciting day, just the perfect end to an unforgettable day.