Sololá

The Atitlán area's "metropolis" of Sololá is the region's administrative capital. Sololá lies a steep, 20-minute climb up from Panajachel and offers stunning mountainside views of the lake. You'll find one of Guatemala's largest markets here. Something goes on, on a smaller scale, every weekday, but Friday is the principal market day, with produce and a decent selection of souvenirs for sale. Sololá remains one of the few places in the highlands where men wear traditional dress, in particular, gold-embroidered jackets distinctive to the town. Sololá's symbol of pride is its 1914 clock tower, still ticking despite damage in Guatemala's 1976 earthquake.