Guatemala Guide
The western highlands
Sololá
Some 12km south of the Los Encuentros junction on the Carretera Interamericana is SOLOLÁ, the departmental capital and gateway to the lake. Perched on a natural balcony some 600m above the water, the town itself isn't much to look at, with a huge central plaza (that's good for people watching) with a clock tower on one side and a modern church on the other. However, its Friday market (there's also a smaller one on Tues) is one of Central America's finest, a mesmeric display of colour and commerce which Aldous Huxley described as "a walking museum of fancy dress". Traders are drawn from all over the highlands, as well as thousands of Sololá Maya, the women covered in striped red cloth and the men in their outlandish "space cowboy" shirts, woollen aprons and wildly embroidered trousers.
Sololá is one of the only places in the country that has parallel indigenous and ladino governments, and is one of Guatemala's largest Maya towns. Tradition dominates daily life, and the town is said to be divided into sections, each administered by a Maya clan, just as it was before the Conquest. The town's symbol, still seen on the back of the men's jackets, is an abstraction of a bat, referring to the royal house of Xahil, who were the rulers of the Kaqchikel at the time of the Spanish invasion.
Another interesting time to visit Sololá is on Sunday, when the cofradías, the elders of the indigenous religious hierarchy, parade through the streets in ceremonial costume to attend late-morning Mass. They're easily recognizable, carrying silver-tipped canes and wearing broad-brimmed hats and particularly elaborate jackets. Inside the church the sexes are segregated, and the women wear shawls to cover their heads.
Virtually no one stays in Sololá, but the Hotel y Restaurante Posada del Viajero, on the east side of the plaza, offers basic rooms (Price: $8-12) and good comida típica. Popular Comedor Las Rosas, on the north side of the plaza, is another good dining option. Buses run to both Panajachel and Los Encuentros every twenty minutes until 7.30pm.