Panajachel

Panajachel (Spanish pronunciation: [pa.na.xaˈtʃel], Pana) is a town in the southwestern part of the Guatemalan Highlands, less than 140 kilometres (90 mi) from Guatemala City, in the department of Sololá. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The elevation is 1,597 metres (5,240 ft). The population in the 2018 census was 15,077. Geographically situated on an alluvial delta formed by the Panajachel River "San Francisco" along the northeastern shore of Lake Atitlán, the town lies within a volcanic basin flanked by the Atitlán, Tolimán, and San Pedro volcanoes. It serves as a primary regional transport hub and economic center within the Sololá Department, facilitating waterborne access to surrounding Tz'utujil and Kaqchikel Maya settlements across the endorheic lake, becoming a center for the tourism industry of the area as it provides a base for visitors crossing the lake to visit other towns and villages. "Panajachel" derives from the Kaqchikel language and roughly translates to "place of the Matasanos," the white sapote fruit tree.