Panajachel
Encyclopedia
Panajachel is a town in the southwestern Guatemala
n Highlands, in the department
of Sololá
. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality
of the same name. The altitude is 1597 metres (5,240 ft). The population is 11,142.
The town of Panajachel is located on the shore of Lake Atitlán, and has become a centre for the tourist
trade of the area as it provides a base for visitors crossing the lake to visit other towns and villages.
conquest of Guatemala, the shore of the lake was the scene of a battle in which the Spanish and their Kaqchikel
allies defeated the Tz'utujil
s. The Spanish set up a church and monastery in Panajachel soon afterward, and used the town as a centre to convert the indigenous people of the region to the Roman Catholic faith. The original façade of the church still stands, and is considered one of the gems of the colonial style in Guatemala.
The town attracted many hippies in the 1960s, but the numbers of foreign visitors plummeted during the Guatemalan Civil War
. After the war ended, tourists started coming back, and Panajachel's economy is once again primarily based on tourism.
and Friendship Bridge
.
in October 2005 with a major mudslide
destroying about 100 homes along the river.
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n Highlands, in the department
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...
of Sololá
Sololá (department)
Sololá is a department in the west of Guatemala. The capital is the city of Sololá.- Municipalities :# Concepción# Nahualá# Nueva Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan# Panajachel# San Andrés Semetabaj# San Antonio Palopó# San José Chacayá# San Juan La Laguna...
. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of the same name. The altitude is 1597 metres (5,240 ft). The population is 11,142.
The town of Panajachel is located on the shore of Lake Atitlán, and has become a centre for the tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
trade of the area as it provides a base for visitors crossing the lake to visit other towns and villages.
History
In the 16th century, during the period of the SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
conquest of Guatemala, the shore of the lake was the scene of a battle in which the Spanish and their Kaqchikel
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
allies defeated the Tz'utujil
Tz'utujil
The Tz'utujil are a Native American people, one of the 21 Maya ethnic groups that dwell in Guatemala. Together with the Xinca, Garífunas and the Ladinos, they make up the 24 ethnic groups in this relatively small country. Approximately 100,000 Tz'utujil live in the area around Lake Atitlán...
s. The Spanish set up a church and monastery in Panajachel soon afterward, and used the town as a centre to convert the indigenous people of the region to the Roman Catholic faith. The original façade of the church still stands, and is considered one of the gems of the colonial style in Guatemala.
The town attracted many hippies in the 1960s, but the numbers of foreign visitors plummeted during the Guatemalan Civil War
Guatemalan Civil War
The Guatemalan Civil War ran from 1960-1996. The thirty-six-year civil war began as a grassroots, popular response to the rightist and military usurpation of civil government , and the President's disrespect for the human and civil rights of the majority of the population...
. After the war ended, tourists started coming back, and Panajachel's economy is once again primarily based on tourism.
International organizations
Panajachel is home to many international non-profit organizations, such as Mercado GlobalMercado Global
Established in 2004, Mercado Global is a 5013 non-profit fair trade organization that links indigenous artisans in rural Guatemalan communities to sales opportunities in the United States through a model that provides both fair wages and investments in local educational projects...
and Friendship Bridge
Friendship Bridge (non-profit)
Friendship Bridge - a non-profit organization based in Lakewood, Colorado implementing microcredit and educational projects to help poor women and their families in Vietnam and Guatemala...
.
Hurricane Stan
Panajachel was seriously affected by Hurricane StanHurricane Stan
Hurricane Stan was the eighteenth named tropical storm and eleventh hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the sixth of seven tropical cyclones to make landfall in Mexico. Stan was a relatively weak storm that only briefly reached hurricane status...
in October 2005 with a major mudslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
destroying about 100 homes along the river.