Mountains

Casa Paloma

A lakeside shala facing the volcanoes

setting

Mountains

where

San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala

best season

November to April is the dry season and the…

ideal for

Yoga Retreat

( the feeling of it )

There is no road. Whatever you were carrying has to come across the water with you, and most of it doesn't bother.

( the story )

A lakeside retreat on Guatemala's Lake Atitlán — arrived at by boat, with a floating yoga platform, a Mayan steam sauna and two swimming docks on a private bay.

You arrive at Casa Paloma by boat, across Lake Atitlán, at 5,100 feet with volcanoes standing over the water. The yoga platform is hardwood and floats above the garden; it holds twenty students and is roofed, so the rainy season doesn't cancel practice. There is a temescal — the traditional Mayan steam sauna — that seats six, a gathering room with a fireplace, a long Conacaste-wood table for lakeside dinners, two swimming docks on the private bay and a massage dock at the water's edge. Rosa Maribel Navichoc and her team cook everything vegetarian: fresh-pressed juices, hand-made tamales, garden-basil pesto pizza from the wood-fired oven. Kayaks and a paddleboard sit at the dock. San Marcos La Laguna is a ten-minute walk.

( field notes, dawn to night )

A day here

sunrise

The lake flat as glass, volcanoes doubled in it, nobody else awake.

mid-morning

Practice on the floating platform, twenty mats, birds going over the roof.

afternoon

Off the swimming dock into cold clean water, then a hammock, then nothing.

evening

The temescal, hot and dark and herbal, then dinner at the Conacaste table.

( worth underlining )

What sets it apart

On the shore of Lake Atitlán at 5,100 feet, reached only by boat

A hardwood yoga platform floating above the garden, seating twenty

A temescal — traditional Mayan steam sauna — for six

Two swimming docks on a private bay, plus a lakeside massage dock

All-vegetarian cooking, including pizza from the wood-fired oven

Ten minutes' walk from San Marcos La Laguna

What you can do

Yoga & Meditation

Temescal Steam Ceremony

Massage & Bodywork

Kayaking & Swimming

Volcano & Waterfall Hikes

Mayan Ceremony

On the property

Floating Yoga Platform

Mayan Temescal Sauna

Private Bay & Swimming Docks

Lakeside Massage Dock

Wood-Fired Oven

Kayaks & Paddleboard

( plan your stay )

You get your attention span back — not gradually, but on about the third morning, all at once.

The boat leaves when you're ready.

best time to visit — November to April is the dry season and the clearest volcano views; the roofed platform keeps practice going through the rains.

before you book

getting there: The retreat coordinator can book a private car from Guatemala City airport, or from your hotel in the city or Antigua, to the lake.
getting around: Casa Una means the equivalent of four flights of stairs, twice a day, at altitude. Ask for another room if that is hard for you.

From casapalomaretreat.com, checked October 2026. Prices change, so confirm with the property when you book.

book with Casa Paloma ↗

you book directly with the property · HAWA Club members can also ask the HAWA assistant, in the seal below

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