La Casa del Mundo, my favorite hotel in Guatemala, located in the tiny village of Jaibalito, on the shores of Lake Atitlán, translates to “the world’s home.” The owners chose the name because they wanted everyone to feel welcome.
Visitors range from backpackers to honeymooning couples to Peace Corps volunteers, and all dine together by candlelight every evening on some of the best food in Guatemala at one long, communal table.
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| The stunning tranquilty of Lake Atitlán and Volcán San Pedro, enjoyed from the porch of several guest rooms. |
Built into the side of a mountain, La Casa del Mundo requires a vertical ascent up several stories of rough-hewn stone steps, but visitors should take their time and enjoy the lush native gardens cultivated from plantings taken from throughout the country.
It is not a hotel for the weak-kneed, but the reward for the climb is a stunning vista of the lake with a backdrop of volcanoes. The lake is a caldera, a collapsed volcano, and it stretches more than 10 miles (18 km) from east to west, nearly five miles (8 km) from north to south.
From the rooms, patios or dining area, the sun sparkles off the lake as if it were liquid diamonds. Flocks of birds fly by below. A fisherman in a carved wooden boat tosses out his net just as his forefathers have done for centuries. Across the miles of expanse rise Volcán San Pedro and Volcán Tolimán, joined by an isthmus of clouds.
The volcanoes look like they are still flowing, like the molten lava that once covered them, although now they are covered in living green. In the mountains above the hotel are tidy farm plots, pines and palms.
Outside, the view offers the gift of Guatemala’s natural beauty; indoors, each room is a miniature museum of Guatemalan folk art — rugs, bedspreads and wall hangings of the country’s famous multi-colored textiles, along with clay pots, carved wood mirrors and headboards, and paintings of Mayan life.
Continued: Guatemalan Retreat: Casa del Mundo
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