If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out the incredible first day and the literally “family friendly” second day For all the information you’ll need to do the hike yourself check out this quick guide I’ve put together. Enjoy!

There wasn’t a hint of the sun out when we woke up for the final climb. It was 4AM so we kept quiet as we packed our things in and headed out into the night. We’d be climbing to the “Indian Nose” view point, a well known spot overlooking Lake Atitlan which has a reputation as one the best sunrise views on the planet! Many travellers come up from the lake villages of San Pedro, San Juan, and San Marcos just for the sunrise hike. Luckily for us, since we had slept literally across the street from the trail start, we had the trail all to ourselves. 

With the moonlight being blocked by dense trees, we used either headlamps or our phones (depending on how well prepared you were) to hike a relatively easy 25 minutes to our viewpoint. I say “our” because they’re a few viewpoints along the ridge of the “nose”, we were on the middle viewpoint. It was still pitch black when we arrived, with the only light being the slight glows from the lakeside villages. All of a sudden, another light exploded into view, quite literally. It was distant Volcan Acatenango erupting, and the red hot glowing lava was visible all the way from the lake. It was an absolutely incredible sight!! But that was only the beginning. Shortly after, a tiny slither of magnificent violet crawled over the mountains and into sight.

 

Sunrise was upon us.

For the next 90 minutes, the horizon became a kaleidoscope of changing colours, violets and oranges, reds and blues, pinks and yellows, and every single one looking worthy of a spot in Louvre. 

The viewing platform is built on a few levels, meaning that even as more tour groups arrived and were constantly posing for photos, they were never blocking my vision. We were taking many photos ourselves of course, and here are just a few of the best.

Once the sun had peaked out from over the horizon and the colours stopped shifting as much, we sat down for breakfast. We had packed a variety of fruit the night before, using the kosher knives so that everyone could have it together. We sat and talked about how amazing it was to have amazing people to share this amazing experience with, before amazingly, M pulled out some amazing kosher cookies which tasted absolutely… Ok, enough “amazingness” for one read.

We ended up staying at the viewpoint for a whopping three hours, with Rudy making some fresh Guatemalan coffee to sip while looking out over the now well lit lake. Even after sunrise, the lake in the light of day was a marvel to behold all of its own. Like you absolutely have to see it once in your lifetime! (I ended up crawling back just two months later, but that’s another story, for another time.) We eventually started out. Though the groups who came just for the sunrise had gone back to the village we had started out from, we had to make our way all the way down to San Pedro. This took about two hours. On the way, we passed a variety of fields growing bananas, coffee, wheat, and Agave, the last of which started a hilarious discussion about tequila vs mezcal that lasted all the way down into San Juan. It was here that the group started splitting up, each going to their hostels and hotels. (Actually we all went to hostels, but I’m not going into that hostel vs hotel discussion here. You know what? Let me know your favourite style of accommodation in the comment section) It was hard to say goodbye, because in just a short time our group had become a pack, that’s just what happens when you do the most amazing things, with the most amazing people.

Just an hour later, as four of us were sipping cold beers while looking out over the shimmering lake, I had an epiphany: The experience of a lifetime may be over, but it had opened a window to so much more. Before the hike I’d loved travel, but it was over those three epic days that I realised that not only did I enjoy it (because let’s be honest who doesn’t?) but that I was finally growing through it.

And into it.

I’ll leave you on that little cliffhanger. I hope you enjoyed my little story! I’ll soon be posting a more practical guide to the hike so if you’re thinking of taking up the challenge be sure to subscribe to the blog so that you don’t miss it!

That’s all folks