"Wellness" is a loose word here. On the lake it can mean a quiet yoga class, a long swim, a weaving workshop, a cooking class or a week of silence. All are available, and quality varies.
What is on offer
Yoga and meditation shalas, many with lake views, especially around San Marcos and Tzununa. Massage and bodywork. Cacao gatherings and breathwork. Kayaking, paddleboarding and diving from Santa Cruz, best in calm morning water. Cooking classes and organic farm tours. Prices vary widely from place to place, so ask before you book.
Choosing well
Use the same questions as for ceremony. Who trained them? What do they promise? Do they ask about your health? Be wary of anyone who promises to cure illness or discourages medical care. Tell practitioners about injuries, pregnancy and any medications.
Cacao: a short, honest guide
What cacao meant to the Maya
Cacao has been part of Maya life for well over a thousand years. Chemical traces of cacao have been found in vessels from royal and elite tombs, including at Copán (in present-day Honduras) from about 400 to 600 AD, which suggests that cacao was left as an offering for dead rulers and relatives. Cacao seeds were also valuable enough to be used as currency. A carving at Palenque shows a king's dead mother reborn as a cacao tree, and cacao was linked to fertility and rebirth.
It was not only for kings. A 2022 study of ceramic fragments from near the Maya city of El Pilar, dating from about 600 to 900 AD, found traces of cacao in more than half of the samples, across all kinds of households. The researchers concluded that cacao was consumed at every level of Maya society.
The drink itself was not the sweet chocolate we know. Seeds were roasted over a fire, ground on a stone metate, and mixed into a frothy drink. In the Lake Atitlán region, some women still froth hot cacao with a wooden whisk called a molinillo, and the traditional hearth uses three stones that stand for the three jade stones the gods placed in the sky.
Cacao at the lake today
Cacao does not grow at the lake. It needs a hot, humid lowland climate, and the lake sits at about 1,500 meters. When a guest drinks cacao here, the beans have traveled.
The company Keith's Cacao says that when its CEO first came to San Marcos La Laguna, in 2016, there was little cacao culture in the village, and that local Maya families used cacao mostly symbolically, for example at weddings or in ritual fires. Today cacao ceremonies are common in San Marcos, often combined with yoga, breathwork, sound healing and ecstatic dance.
We wrote a separate page about the man behind that company: Keith Wilson and the cacao movement.
Critics describe the ceremony as largely a modern, international practice. One Maya spiritual guide interviewed for a 2020 article said she knew nothing about cacao ceremonies, that cacao is not native to the lake, and that the idea of "shamans" is an imported concept. Others call it cultural appropriation when people profit from ceremonies they did not inherit. Some practitioners answer that they are not copying a specific Maya rite, and that they honor the origin of cacao and pay farmers fairly. We think both views deserve a hearing.
How to join a cacao ceremony with respect
- Ask where the cacao comes from. A good answer names the farm or cooperative and says how the farmers are paid.
- Ask how the facilitator describes their training. Honest facilitators say plainly what they learned and from whom, and do not claim to speak for the Maya.
- Be wary of the word "authentic". A ceremony does not become Maya because the room has Maya symbols.
- Ask what it costs and where the money goes. Many ceremonies ask for a donation. Prefer places that support local people and not only visitors.
- Tell the facilitator about your health. Cacao is a stimulant and can interact with some medications. Take extra care with heart conditions, anxiety, or pregnancy.
- Keep your expectations modest. A cup of warm cacao in good company is lovely. It is not a cure.
- Do not photograph or film others without permission.
The pyramids of San Marcos (Las Pirámides del Ka)
San Marcos La Laguna has many places for meditation and yoga. One of them is Las Pirámides del Ka, a meditation and wellness center with pyramid-shaped buildings, which offers longer courses in meditation and yoga, including month-long programs.
We do not have current details on prices, hours or whether you can visit for a day, so please write to the center before you go and ask. As with any spiritual center, ask who teaches, what they train in, what is expected of you, and what it costs.
Take it slow
Build in rest. Many visitors do too much in their first three days. Swim in the morning, rest through the afternoon wind, and leave one day with nothing in it. The CDC advises against swallowing lake water, so swim, rinse and enjoy. Lifeguards are rare, so swim where others do and stay near the shore.
Last checked October 2026. Fees, fares and hours change, so confirm anything that matters.