Photo coming soon · Sitio arqueológico Semetabaj
arqueologia
Sitio arqueológico Semetabaj
Earthen mounds of one of the oldest Maya cities in the country, next to the general cemetery; it is also a sacred place.
Getting there →Tierras altas · Sololá
San Andrés Semetabaj
A highland Kaqchikel town beside a Middle Preclassic Maya site, with lake lookouts, a paragliding launch and the Xutío tradition on Holy Saturday.
Patron saint: San Andrés ApóstolPatron saint's fair: November 30Mayan language: kaqchikel
Discover San Andrés Semetabaj
Preliminary summary · pending community reviewWhat makes San Andrés Semetabaj unique
Beside a very ancient Maya city
San Andrés Semetabaj sits high in the basin, on the route between Panajachel and the highway, with sweeping views of the lake. Next to the town is a Middle Preclassic archaeological site, one of the oldest in the region. Its name blends Spanish and Kaqchikel and means 'glassy-looking stone'.
Photo coming soon
HistoryHow San Andrés Semetabaj came to bec. 500 BC · 2005-todaySee more →Photo coming soon
Things to seeAttractions in San Andrés SemetabajSitio arqueológico Semetabaj · Mirador sobre el lagoSee more →Photo coming soon
Patron saint and fairSan Andrés ApóstolNovember 30See more →Photo coming soon
Mayan traditional dressThe traditional dress of San Andrés SemetabajSee more →Photo coming soon
Traditional foodWhat to eat in San Andrés SemetabajSee more →Photo coming soon
DirectorySan Andrés Semetabaj directory7 listingsSee more →Are you from San Andrés Semetabaj and want to correct or expand this summary? Write to us
History
How San Andrés Semetabaj came to be
The first to arrive found the lake, the volcanoes and the forest; others came after, and each arrival left its mark.
- c. 500 BCMiddle Preclassic Maya center. The Semetabaj site was established in the Middle Preclassic and may have been a local administrative center; its Structure 12 reached about 15 m in height.
- AD 200-800Reoccupation and abandonment. After being left uninhabited in the Late Preclassic, the site was reoccupied in the Early Classic and abandoned around AD 800, with no trace of Postclassic occupation.
- c. 1540Franciscan doctrina. The Franciscans founded the town as a reducción or doctrina (mission parish) attached to the Panajachel convent, probably around 1540. Its original name was San Andrés Limetabaj.
- 1689-1770A town on the royal road. In 1689 Friar Francisco de Zuasa counted 315 inhabitants; in 1765 there were 167 tribute-payers, many of them muleteers who rented out pack animals because the town lay on the camino real (royal road); in 1770 Archbishop Cortés y Larraz recorded 320 people.
- 19th centuryA municipality of its own. Around the mid-19th century it separated from Panajachel. It was part of the State of Los Altos from April 3, 1838, and in 1872, when Quiché was created, it remained in Sololá.
- 2005-todayArchaeological research and living tradition. Excavations took place in 2005 (Stanford and Universidad del Valle) and in 2016-2017. Every Holy Saturday the Cofradía de San Andrés Apóstol keeps up the Xutío, a custom more than 130 years old.
Sources: mesoweb.com · repositorio.uvg.edu.gt · es.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · portal.siinsan.gob.gt · agn.gt
Attractions in San Andrés Semetabaj
Photo coming soon · Mirador sobre el lago
mirador
Mirador sobre el lago
The municipality has a lookout over Lake Atitlán and its volcanoes, high up in the basin.
Getting there →Photo coming soon · Despegue de parapente Finca El Potrero
naturaleza
Despegue de parapente Finca El Potrero
Launch site at 1,950 m altitude, about 400 m above the lake, for tandem flights of about 20 minutes.
Q650 per person with Parapente Guatemala (published price); 25 minutes by car from PanajachelGetting there →Photo coming soon · Iglesia colonial de San Andrés
iglesia
Iglesia colonial de San Andrés
The town's colonial church; the Judas effigy is lowered from its bell tower in the Xutío tradition.
Getting there →Sources: prensalibre.com · portal.siinsan.gob.gt · livinginguatemala.com
Living culture
Photo coming soon
Patron saint and fair
San Andrés Apóstol
San Andrés Apóstol: November 30 (fiesta from November 28 to December 1, according to SESAN). On Holy Saturday (Sábado de Gloria) the Xutío comes out: the Cofradía de San Andrés Apóstol (a religious brotherhood) lowers the Judas effigy from the bell tower and a masked neighbor parades it through the streets with marimba, while those who challenge him lash each other with quince switches. At the November fair people dance the Torito (little bull) and La Conquista (the Dance of the Conquest). Women weave on backstrap looms and sell vegetables and textiles.
Sources: portal.siinsan.gob.gt · es.wikipedia.org · atitlanvida.com · agn.gt · huipils.com
Photo coming soon
Mayan traditional dress
The traditional dress of San Andrés Semetabaj
The huipiles (traditional woven blouses) of San Andrés Semetabaj are known among collectors for their very dense brocade, woven on a backstrap loom; shawls are dyed with indigo. The sources consulted do not describe the corte (wrap skirt) or a present-day men's dress.
Sources: huipils.com
Photo coming soon
Traditional food
What to eat in San Andrés Semetabaj
No documented signature dish was found. The SESAN assessment describes an everyday diet of rice, potatoes, noodles, coffee, tortillas, tamales, beans and chili, with vegetables, eggs, chicken and native herbs.
Sources: portal.siinsan.gob.gt
Featured businesses in San Andrés Semetabaj
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San Andrés Semetabaj directory
7 resultsSuggest a business
Public institution
Municipalidad de San Andrés Semetabaj
- Phone
- 7962-2626
- Address
- Cabecera municipal
Lugares de interésPending verification
Iglesia parroquial de San Andrés Apóstol
Templo católico de la cabecera, centro de la fiesta patronal de San Andrés Apóstol (27 nov-1 dic) y de la tradición del Xutío.
- Location
- Cabecera municipal
- Phone
- Not available
- Hours
- Not available
Banca y finanzasPending verification
Cooperativa Regional Integral de Servicios Agrícolas San Andrés Semetabaj R.L. (COOPSA)
Cooperativa local fundada en 1959 que ofrece ahorro, inversión y créditos para vivienda, agricultura, comercio y emprendimiento.
- Location
- Cabecera municipal
- Phone
- +502 7888 5000
- Hours
- Not available
Public institution
Casa de Desarrollo Cultural de San Andrés Semetabaj
- Phone
- Not available
- Address
- Cabecera municipal
EducaciónIncomplete information
Instituto Mixto Jesús Salva
Centro educativo del municipio cuyos estudiantes participaron en 2026 en actividades culturales del Ministerio de Cultura.
- Location
- Not available
- Phone
- Not available
- Hours
- Not available
EducaciónIncomplete information
Escuela Oficial Urbana Mixta "El Hormigo"
Escuela primaria pública del área urbana; sus alumnos de quinto grado participaron en un taller cultural en junio de 2026.
- Location
- Área urbana
- Phone
- Not available
- Hours
- Not available
Lugares de interésIncomplete information
Sitio arqueológico Semetabaj
Antiguo centro ceremonial preclásico con montículos de tierra y piedra; algunas visitas culturales guiadas lo incluyen.
- Location
- Not available
- Phone
- Not available
- Hours
- Not available