Ajijic is a town about 3 miles from, and a part of, the municipality of Chapala

Chapala

Chapala is a city and municipality in the central Mexican state of Jalisco, located on the north shore of Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest freshwater lake. According to the 2005 census, its population is 43,345 for the municipality.-Geography:...

, in the State of Jalisco

Jalisco

Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Situated on the north shore of Lake Chapala

Lake Chapala

Lake Chapala is Mexico's largest freshwater lake. It lies in the municipalities of Chapala, Jocotepec , Poncitlán, and Jamay, in Jalisco, and in Venustiano Carranza and Cojumatlán de Régules, in Michoacán.- Geographic Features :...

, surrounded by mountains, Ajijic enjoys a moderate climate year round. The population is around 15,000.

Geography

Ajijic is located (at 20°18"N, 103°15"W) 5046 feet above sea level in the vast central Mexican plateau that is home to the Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre Occidental

The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...

 mountain range.

The Chapala Lake basin has a year round average temperature of about 72 degrees. Due to Ajijic's tropical latitude, the sun is warm year round; due to its relatively high elevation, it is seldom unpleasantly hot or humid. The rainy season begins in June and lasts until October with an average rainfall of approximately 34 inches. Even during the rainy season, precipitation generally occurs during the evening or at night.

December and January are the coolest months and May is the hottest, just before the onset of the rainy season. Overall, there is very little temperature variation year round: daytime highs in January are around 75 degrees; daytime highs in July are around 80 to 90 degrees.

History

Up until the arrival of the Spanish, the region was occupied by nomadic Indian tribes, probably the Cocas tribe that settled the northern shore. There seem to be many explanations, and meanings for the names Chapala and Ajijic, all of which are Indian place names, probably derived from Nahuatl

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

, the native language of the area.

The Chapala region, especially Ajijic, has become a destination for Americans and Canadians.

Popular culture

American writer Dane Chandos settled in Ajijic before World War II and wrote two books about life there: Village in the Sun (1945, G.P. Putnam's Sons), which concerns his efforts to build a house on the edge of the lake, and House in the Sun (1949), which concerns his operation of a small inn in the house. They were written when the main road was unpaved, ice was delivered by bus from Guadalajara, and electricity was just being installed.