Place Archive

San Pedro

San Pedro La Laguna is characterized by cobblestone streets lined with colorful colonial-era buildings housing local shops and residences, marked by ironwork balconies and arched windows. The town functions as a commercial and transport hub on Lake Atitlán’s northern shore, where decorated tuk-tuks, motorcycles, and lanchas serve residents and visitors amid a blend of traditional and modern infrastructure.

7 photos

A boat on the shore of San Pedro Guatemala — Passenger boats are moored along the shore of Lake Atitlán in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala. These launches, commonly called lanchas, are a principal transport link on the lake, connecting San Pedro with other towns that ring the basin where road travel can be slower or less direct. The waterfront combines docks, lodging, restaurants, and small commercial buildings, reflecting San Pedro’s dual role as both a local port and a tourism center on Lake Atitlán.

San Pedro Guatemala motorcycle — A red motorcycle stands on a narrow cobblestone lane in San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá Department, Guatemala. The street is lined with closely built houses and small mixed-use buildings constructed from cinder block, adobe, stone, and corrugated metal, materials commonly used in the town’s hillside neighborhoods. San Pedro La Laguna sits on the shore of Lake Atitlán and is connected by steep pedestrian streets and local roads that link residential areas with the town center and lakeside commerce.

Guatemalan Tuk Tuk — A motorized three-wheeled taxi is parked on a cobblestone street in San Pedro, Guatemala. Commonly known as a tuk-tuk, this type of vehicle is widely used in Guatemalan towns for short local trips on narrow streets where larger vehicles are less practical. The vehicle’s numbered bodywork and customized paint are typical of individually operated urban transport, and the nearby Banrural branch places it in a commercial part of town.

San Pedro Laguna Guatemala — A steep cobblestone street in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala, runs between mixed residential and commercial buildings on the town’s hillside street grid. Storefronts including a hardware shop and small neighborhood businesses line the route, while motorcycles, a van, and dense overhead utility wiring point to its role as an active local thoroughfare. San Pedro La Laguna is a municipality on the southwestern shore of Lake Atitlán, where closely built streets climb rapidly from the lakeside into the surrounding slopes.

San Pedro and Lake Atitlan Guatemala — A jewelry and art gallery stands on a steep cobblestone street descending to the Lake Atitlán waterfront in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala. San Pedro is one of several towns on the lake’s shore, where commercial streets connect boat landings and lakeside businesses with the residential areas on higher ground. Shops in this part of town cater to both residents and visitors, with handicrafts, clothing, paintings, ceramics, and jewelry forming part of the local tourism and artisan economy. The caption pertains to conditions in San Pedro La Laguna on March 3, 2020.

Drunks R Us San Pedro Guatemala — Drunks R Us, San Pedro, Guatemala, is identified by a projecting storefront sign mounted above the street. The sign combines the number 420, Rastafarian red-yellow-green coloring, and a portrait of Bob Marley, linking the business branding to cannabis and reggae references.

Sunny morning at Lake Atitlan Guatemala — Lake Atitlán in the Guatemalan Highlands stretches across a volcanic caldera with Volcán San Pedro rising on the southern shore. A small boat moves across the lake, which links shoreline towns and Indigenous Maya communities and supports transportation, fishing, and tourism. Volcán San Pedro is one of the three principal volcanoes associated with Lake Atitlán, alongside Tolimán and Atitlán.

Photographs showcasing change over time