Santa Catarina Palopo - Santa Catarina Palopo, Solala

Every town and village around the beautiful Lake Atitlan has its own unique flavor and distinctive features. Santa Catarina Palopo is known as the Blue Village or Blue Town because that color is so prominent everywhere. From a hill overlooking the town, you can see a wide variety of blue tints to a great many of the houses and other structures. There are other vibrant colors as well, but the blue is most conspicuous. And the paint job isn't just solid colors, but artistic patterns and motifs. This makeover was launched in 2016 with the guidance of an artist to train the locals in painting their homes in an aesthetically pleasing manner. But as appealing as the village is from a distance, it's also worth visiting up close, with its many vendors of arts and crafts, and of handmade tortillas, among other things.

If you go:
Santa Catarina Palopo is only 3 miles, mostly downhill, from Panajachel if you're up for an exhilarating walk. For a distinctly Guatemalan experience that you're not likely to find in the U.S., catch a ride, either to or from, on one of the pickup trucks designed for passengers to sit in the back and hold onto specially installed metal bars. It's quite a thrill ride.

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