Panajachel Dock

Look straight ahead. The three volcanoes closing the horizon are, from left to right, Atitlán, Tolimán and San Pedro. Atitlán, the tallest, reaches 3,535 metres and is still active: its last eruption was in 1853.

But the real volcano is the lake. About 84,000 years ago, a colossal eruption known as Los Chocoyos ejected close to 300 cubic kilometres of material. The ash reached what is now Florida and Ecuador. The ground collapsed and left a giant crater: the caldera that is now full of water.

The lake covers about 130 square kilometres and is more than 300 metres deep, making it the deepest in Central America. It sits 1,562 metres above sea level, which is why the air is cool even though we are in the tropics.

Panajachel is a Kaqchikel town. On the southern and western shores, in Santiago and San Juan, people speak Tz'utujil. Twelve towns surround the lake, each with its own dress and its own colours. The boats leaving from this dock are the road that links them.

In the afternoon, almost every day, the Xocomil blows, the wind that stirs the lake. In Kaqchikel its name means something like the wind that carries away sin. If you are crossing by boat, do it in the morning.

In the 3D view you will see the whole caldera from above, with the three volcanoes and the towns, and you can go back 84,000 years to the moment of the eruption.