Laguna de Ayarza

Laguna de Ayarza fills a caldera in the volcanic hills of the eastern highlands, a deep blue lake of a few square kilometres enclosed on all sides by steep slopes of pine and scrub with almost nothing built on them, and it is one of the least visited lakes in the country despite being within a few hours of Guatemala City. The water is deep and cool and used for swimming and kayaking; a handful of simple places on the shore rent boats and offer food at weekends. The road in is rough and drops sharply to the water. The eastern highlands around it are dry, hot and thinly visited compared with the west.

What you actually see

• A deep caldera lake - blue water in a volcanic bowl.
• Steep undeveloped slopes - pine and scrub around the whole shore.
• Swimming and kayaking - the use made of the cool deep water.
• Quiet by Guatemalan standards - very few visitors most of the time.

When to go

In the dry stretch from November to April. A day from Guatemala City. Weekends bring local visitors and the few shore businesses open then.

Honest expectations

The road down to the lake is steep and rough. Facilities are minimal and mostly weekend-only. The lake is deep with no shallow shelf. Public transport does not reach the shore.

Nearby

Casillas is west; Jalapa lies north-east.