Volcán Atitlán, Active stratovolcano in Sololá, Guatemala

Volcán Atitlán is a large, conical, active stratovolcano on the southern side of Lake Atitlán's caldera, in the Sololá Department of Guatemala's Sierra Madre de Chiapas. It is part of the Central American Volcanic Arc, formed by subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate. Forest covers its lower slopes and ends about 500 metres below the summit, where small fumaroles are found.

Atitlán is a stratovolcano of the Central American Volcanic Arc, formed by subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate. More than a dozen eruptions were recorded between 1469 and 1853, the year of its most recent eruption. Its best-known event is the Chocoyos eruption, a VEI 7 rhyolitic blast that expelled 300 km³ of tephra, left deposits from Florida to Ecuador and created an 18 km-wide, 900 m-deep caldera.

Local Maya communities view this volcano as a sacred place where they perform rituals at different points along its slopes. These practices remain part of everyday spiritual life in the region and are passed down through families.

The hike to the summit takes approximately eight hours from San Lucas Tolimán following the southern route through Chanán and requires good physical fitness. Weather conditions can change rapidly, especially at higher elevations, so proper clothing and preparation are essential.

The horned guan, a turkey-sized bird with a one-inch scarlet horn on the male's head, lives only in cloud forest above about 1,650 m, including these slopes. The Cabanis's or azure-rumped tanager has one of the smallest ranges of any bird here, limited to mid-elevations of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in Mexico and western Guatemala.