Mayan Face
Mayan Face - The best hike on Lake Atitlan to talk about geology!
The Mayan Face (formally known as the "Indian's Nose") is a lookout point on the North Western side of Lake Atitlan, situated between the towns of San Juan la Laguna and Santa Clara la Laguna, so called because the shape of the cliffs look like a reclined face. On a crystal clear day it’s possible to see 8 volcanoes from the top, in a straight line, and most of the Atitlan III caldera in which Lake Atitlan now sits.
The profile of the face has various different lookout points. These aren't all part of a unified National Park. Each part of the face is owned by different land owners who all charge their own entrances fees and have their own paths up. So if you decide to go on your own then be prepared to pay multiple landowners if you go from one lookout to another. I have a relationship with most of the different landowners and take people to different lookouts depending on how they'd like to do the hike. (I also take care of all those different fees so there are no additional "hidden costs" on the trip).
The different lookouts
The "nose" part of the face is the highest lookout. It has the best view as you can look South towards the lake but also has a much more open view to the North, essentially 360 degrees from the top. The hike up takes around 45 minutes with around half an hour of that being pretty much straight up some quite steep steps through a mostly forested area. There's no view of the lake until you get to the very top but once you're there it's spectacular.
An easier version of the hike only goes as far as the "chin" part of the face, via the "Adam's apple" and "double-chin" lookouts. Doing the hike this way is a more staged hike. It's an easy mostly flat walk to the first lookout, then around 10 minutes or so up to the second and another 10 minutes up to the "chin" part of the face. Although lower than the Nose it's still a spectacular view of the lake. I tend to suggest this option with families, older clients or those worried about fitness levels, muscular niggles or how the altitude might affect them. The staged aspect means that we can stop at any of the lower lookout and still have a great view to do the geology class as to how Lake Atitlan formed and why there are so many volcanoes in Guatemala.
The Geo Travel Guatemala trip
Whilst going for the sunrise is the more popular way of doing the trip that's mostly because it's the only way that the local tour agencies offer it. That means that there are just too many people up there now, regularly 50-60 most mornings and often many more than that at the weekends with some camping overnight. For that reason I no longer offer the sunrise version of the trip to the Mayan Face. Going for a later start avoids those crowds and I think the trip works better as an all round experience.
Leaving after breakfast, around 8:30am, it's still a glorious view, we can take a bit more time on the hike up and there's a good chance we'll be the only ones up there. I've also noticed that people get a lot more out of my geology class when not battling to stay awake with the low harsh sun in their eyes after a very early start, as with the sunrise version of the trip. With that later start we'd be back down around lunchtime, 1pm ish.
Itinerary
Depart San Pedro/San Marcos - 08:30
Arrive in Santa Clara to start hike ~ 09:15
Geology class ~ 10:30
Hike down ~ 11:30
Arrive San Pedro/San Marcos ~13:00
What to bring
Good shoes
Water and snacks
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Bug-spray
Pricing structure
1 or 2 people: Q900 for trip
3 people: Q1050 (Q350 per person)
4 people: Q1200 (Q300 per person)
5 people: Q1375 (Q275 per person)
For larger groups please ask for a quote
What's included
All transport
Geology class
Park entrance