If you want to see the sunset at Lake Atitlan, you must go to the Indian Nose, also known as The Mayan Face. How to start. First you get up at 4 o'clock in the morning (bye bye good night rest) and take a minivan to Santa Clara la Laguna. After a 35 minute drive you get to the foot of the Indian Nose. Luckily the climb is only a 30 minute hike to reach the top and doable for practically any person that can walk (otherwise might one of us wouldn't make it). Reaching the top it's possible to watch the sunrise and the volcanic chain of Guatemala. While you are waiting, for the sun to come up you get a coffee and a piece of local bread if you want. The bread is really sugary and not the kind that you know from Europe, but tasty. The coffee that you get is also locally grown in the mountains surrounding Lake Atitlan.
And then the moment comes that you've been waiting for... The sun peaking from behind the volcanoes... Wonderful!
Most of the people do it with a tour guide that brings you up the mountain, often it will cost you about 100Q per person. They will pick you up at your hotel/hostel/guesthouse... and drop you off afterwards.
Do you need anything special? Well, there are some things that we recommend to take with you while doing this hike:
Warm clothes: it's quit chilly when the sun isn't up yet.
Good shoes: the hike is easy, but it's favored.
Light! It's still dark when you start your walk, and only the guide with the one flashlight won't show you the ground. So if you have a flashlight or even the flashlight from you cellphone - us it.
Water
Something to catch the beautiful scenery: camera, gopro, celphone...
THE BUDGET TIP!
If you want to do this one on a budget, you can but it's more difficult. First you would have to take the chickenbus at 4am to Xela, they leave at the top of the market in San Pedro. When you come near to Santa Clara you have to try to get of as close as you can at the starting point for the hike. You can for instance follow your route on Google Maps. Then you must try to find a group that has paid for the trip and just follow them on a little distance. That way you will follow the correct route.
