GUATEMALA WELLNESS RETREAT

6-DAY LAKE ATITLÁN RETREAT

Trip Style: Retreat

NATURE, CULTURE & WELLNESS AT LAKE ATITLÁN

Trip Highlights

Lake Atitlán is one of those places that feels almost too beautiful to be real. Three volcanoes rise dramatically from the shores of a deep blue lake, while small villages, lush forests, and Mayan culture creates a landscape that is as cultural as it is physical. This 6-day journey gives you a chance to experience the region beyond its iconic views, combining time in nature, local traditions, outdoor adventure, and restorative moments at a beautiful eco-lodge overlooking the lake.

Your home base is a jungle eco-lodge in Tzununa, surrounded by tropical gardens and sweeping views of Lake Atitlán. Days might take you into the rainforest for a waterfall hike, onto the lake by kayak or paddleboard, or into the community to learn about cacao, the Mayan calendar, permaculture, and regenerative agriculture. Throughout the retreat, Michelle will also draw on her deep knowledge of the Mayan calendar, helping you understand the traditions, symbolism, and seasonal rhythms that continue to shape life in this region. You'll experience a traditional Mayan fire ceremony, meet local producers and community members, and have plenty of time to enjoy the lodge's pool, sauna, spa, and peaceful surroundings.

Food is part of the experience, too, with meals made from organic and locally grown ingredients, including produce grown through local regenerative and permaculture practices. Throughout the journey, you'll have the opportunity to learn how ancient traditions and contemporary approaches to sustainability coexist in this remarkable part of Guatemala.

Book our 6-day Guatemala Retreat starting at $2695 per person. See all inclusions, itinerary details, and complete pricing in the drop-downs below.

why this trip?

This is a journey that invites you to experience Guatemala rather than simply visit it—through its landscapes, communities, traditions, food, and the people working to protect them.The communities around Lake Atitlán have maintained strong Indigenous traditions for generations, and this journey gives you an opportunity to experience those traditions in meaningful ways while deepening your own spiritual practice.

The Mayan calendar is much more than a way of measuring time. It is deeply connected to Mayan cosmology, nature, personal identity, and the rhythms of daily life. During the retreat, your retreat leader Michelle draws on her expertise in the Mayan calendar to help you explore these traditions and consider how they relate to your own life and practice.

Combined with the Mayan fire ceremony and cacao experience workshop with local Kaqchikel women, this creates a deeper cultural context for the retreat, one that goes beyond observing traditions to understanding some of the beliefs and perspectives behind them.

This isn't a retreat where every minute is programmed. You can have adventure when you want it, space when you don't. Your days have a natural rhythm that allows you to choose how you want to experience the region. Hike to waterfalls, kayak or paddleboard on the lake, explore the surrounding communities, or simply slow down at the lodge with a book, a swim, a sauna, or time taking in the view.

Food, agriculture, and sustainability are woven throughout the journey. You'll explore permaculture and regenerative agriculture, learn about local food systems and discover the important role cacao has played in Mayan culture and continues to play in communities around Lake Atitlán. You’ll enjoy meals made with organic and locally sourced ingredients. These aren't abstract sustainability conversations but rather opportunities to see first hand how people in the region are working with the land and adapting traditional knowledge for the future.

Travel with purpose. Every Traverse Journeys departure includes a contribution to a carefully selected Community Partner, supporting organizations creating meaningful impact in the destinations we visit. In Guatemala, your trip supports WellKind, whose local initiatives focus on forestry, conservation, and protecting the natural environment around Lake Atitlán.

Testimonials

About your hosts

Michelle Fajkus is a writer, lifelong learner, yoga teacher, retreat leader, and creator of Yoga Freedom. She has been joyfully teaching yoga since 2002 and leading retreats since 2010. A left-handed Texan Gemini with Libra rising, she lives with her family on magical Lake Atitlan in Guatemala and works as a freelance writer, editor, translator, interpreter and yoga instructor.

trip inclusions

FAQS