A Surprise Review Of Eagles Nest Yoga Retreat in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

** This post was awarded Blog Post Of The Year at the British Guild of Travel Writers’ Members Excellence Awards 2023**

This is my honest review of my three-night stay at Eagles Nest Atitlán yoga retreat near San Marcos, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. I paid for the trip myself in full and have not been asked to promote the hotel or the company. However this post does contain affiliate links, meaning that if you decide to buy something after reading this review, I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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The naked man nods towards the greeny brown water of the small plunge pool.

“You have to get in all the way up to your neck,” he says. “It’s cold, but if you stay in for at least three minutes, you’ll feel amazing.”

Water drips from the tendrils of long hair plastered to his wet shoulders and runs down his pale chest. I fix my gaze on the pool, on Megan, on the rustic wooden cabin just behind her, on anything other than the completely exposed male body in front of me. It feels rude to look, but when you’re suddenly ambushed by a naked man, it’s hard to know where to put your eyes.

Especially when you’re British. We don’t do public nudity.

Megan (from California) stands in her red bikini on the cobbled stone path, her skin beaded with sweat from the sauna, and looks doubtfully at the murky water.

“Go on then,” I prompt her. “When a strange naked man tells you to do something, you should probably just go with it.”

So in we get.

Visiting Eagle’s Nest Yoga Retreat in Lake Atitlan

When I was researching my travels around Guatemala I hadn’t planned to visit Eagle’s Nest, a yoga-retreat-slash-eco-hostel near the village of San Marcos on Lake Atitlán.

I hadn’t considered doing a yoga retreat at all. In fact, when I searched for information about the best places to visit on Lake Atitlan, the consensus was that San Marcos was best avoided. “It’s the hippy town,” say most of the online guides. “There’s not much to do there unless you’re into astrology and spiritual healing and taking hallucinogenic drugs,” said a fellow traveller.

So I noted it down as Probably Not My Kind Of Place and Perhaps Best Just For A Quick Day Trip, and thought no more about it.

But as I travelled in Guatemala, I met two people who had stayed at Eagle’s Nest Atitlán, both of whom rated it extremely highly as a beautiful place to relax, take in the glorious scenery, do a bit of yoga and eat healthy vegetarian food. Neither of them seemed particularly woo-woo or hippy, so I wondered if perhaps I might like it after all.

And then I met Megan, who invited me to join her there for a three-night stay, and she seemed normal too, so in the spirit of friendship and saying yes to opportunities, I agreed.

Read more: Lake Atitlan For Beginners: How To Visit Guatemala’s #1 Spot

Introducing Eagle’s Nest Atitlán

“Featuring Eco-Lodging, Scenic Restaurant & Café, and Epic Platform with Yoga Classes, Weekly Events, & Supportive Community, Eagle’s Nest is an awe-inspiring venue for the transformational growth of adventure travellers, digital nomads, and visionaries,” gushes the Eagle’s Nest website. “Come stay in paradise and enjoy the life you’ve always dreamed of living.”

The photos show a beautiful rustic hillside retreat, with eco cabins nestled in lush tropical vegetation, airy communal seating areas draped with colourful fabrics, and a magnificent yoga platform with 180-degree views over the volcanos of Lake Atitlan.

The site is peppered liberally with words like ‘creative spirit’, ‘effervescing’, ‘manifestation’, ‘Godly’, ‘astrology’, ‘self-actualize’, ‘alignment’, and ‘pilgrimage’, and there are photos showing tattooed yoga bros with scraggy beards and man buns, and dreamy-looking young women with mermaid hair and flowing dresses.

So it might be a bit hippy, I thought, but each to their own. I like yoga and healthy food, and I need some time to chill out after several weeks of hiking volcanos and visiting Maya ruins. I can ignore the bohemian flower children and the free-love stoners and just enjoy the peace and the views.

When I said this to Megan, she agreed to let me come if I promised not to roll my eyes too much.

Getting to Eagles Nest Lake Atitlán

We travelled to Lake Atitlan from Antigua Guatemala, where I’d spent a week photographing erupting volcanos and visiting colourful markets.

A tourist shuttle picked us up from our hostel and two hours later deposited us at the pier in Panajachel, the gateway town to Lake Atitlan.

Several unmarked boats were waiting on the waterfront, but a helpful French lady pointed us in the direction of the one going to San Marcos and explained how they work (just get on, tell the boatman where you want to get off, pay at the end), and five minutes later we were on our way to the village of San Marcos.

The guidebooks say that once you arrive in San Marcos it’s a 30-minute walk uphill or 15 minutes in a tuktuk to Eagle’s Nest, and since we were carrying heavy backpacks, we decided to grab a ride.

We were very glad we did, as the route turned out to be perilously steep, ending abruptly when the tuktuk driver pulled up in front of a narrow dusty side alley. “Por allá,” he said, pointing.

We hefted our backpacks and began walking, down the dusty alley, up some steps, up more steps, along a tiny path between trees and a wire fence, up more steps, following the yellow arrows painted on the rocks and the occasional ‘Eagle’s Nest’ sign to reassure us we were going the right way.

“No one mentioned the hike!” I puffed under the weight of 17 kg of luggage and about 10 kg of camera gear. “But I guess this is all part of the workout…”

Communal Spaces at Eagles Nest

The good news is that – once you finally get there – Eagle’s Nest looks exactly like the photos.

A rustic eco-lodge built from stone, adobe and wood, with a large open plan communal living space equipped with wicker sofas, mattresses, beanbags and swings for sitting on, and a stage with an electric piano for musical performances. If you’re lucky you’ll get treated to an evening of lilting piano melodies by the talented manager, JP; if not you might get some 22-year-old badly belting out ‘Watermelon Sugar’ by Harry Styles on a sticker-covered guitar. We got both, so swings and roundabouts I guess.

The property also features a range of dorms and private cabins nestled into the hillside, connected to each other by stone paths and yet more steps; a café overlooking the lake and the much-celebrated wooden-floored yoga space with 180-degree panoramic views.

It’s basic and rustic, but what it lacks in polish it makes up for with the views and the chilled-out atmosphere. Just as long as you can put up with occasional tiresome American digital nomad bro making loud video calls on his laptop in the public areas. While I was prepared for hippies with man buns and glazed eyes, I wasn’t expecting to find tech dudes at a hillside yoga retreat.

Our Room at Eagles Nest

Megan and I booked three nights in the cheapest twin room, named Boa. It had two single beds, a small basin, a few shelves to put stuff on, and a little balcony. It was small but I quite liked it because instead of having the two beds side by side, the individual sleeping areas were stacked one above the other and joined by a staircase. This meant that even though we were sharing a room, we each had our own semi-private space.

The beds were narrow but comfortable and the room was reasonably clean – or at least as clean as you can probably expect given the rustic nature of the place and the fact that nature is always trying to get in. Which it was determined to do. Every night I had to bat away ants and flying beetles, so I wonder if the cabins could do with a little more bug proofing.

The WiFi worked reasonably well in the central areas but was slow in our room.

Read more: Yaxha Guatemala: The Magical Mayan Ruins You Need To Visit

My only other minor grumbles were that the downstairs area, including the bed and blankets, smelled a bit damp and musty. The sheets were clean, but I fear they may need to wash the blankets and pillows more often than they do.

Although there was a basin, the only mirror in our room was a tiny circular hand mirror with a huge crack across the middle. This was just one example of a certain lack of attention to detail that I noticed throughout my stay – there were definitely a few areas where minor additions could have dramatically improved the guest experience.

Bathrooms at Eagle’s Nest Guatemala

A couple of the larger suites have private bathrooms but most of the rooms have shared bathrooms. These are situated in a block a short walk away along a path and up yet more steep stone stairs – which is usually fine except when you need the loo in a hurry or in the middle of the night when it’s pouring with rain (which it did quite a lot when we were there in May, the start of rainy season).

There are two outdoor showers, which are hot with reasonable pressure. You can even stand and look out over the lake while you wash, which is a lovely experience.

Read more: A Colourful Guide To Flores Guatemala: Gateway To The Maya World

The toilets are less lovely because they are compost toilets.

I don’t mind compost toilets, but if you haven’t used them before, they can take a bit of getting used to. Essentially a compost toilet is just a deep hole in the ground with a loo seat over the top. After you’ve used it, instead of flushing you add a scoop of sawdust, and this helps the waste to decompose.

They didn’t smell too bad, and staff cleaned them twice a day, so they weren’t too awful. There’s still a basin with soap and water outside to wash your hands.

Though I must admit after three nights at Eagle’s Nest I was very happy to get back to a nice clean indoor bathroom with running water.

The Food

When you book your room at Eagle’s Nest, the rate includes three meals a day, served in the café. All the meals are vegetarian (with an option for vegans) and everyone eats the same thing. You just go to the counter during the allotted mealtimes and they’ll give you a plate of food.

Breakfasts included oatmeal with fruit and omelette with fried plantains, lunch was pasta or vegetarian cottage pie with salad, and dinner was usually soup with vegetables or toast.

While meals were healthy and tasty, most people agreed that portion sizes were a bit stingy. I’d estimate they were feeding us three 500-calorie meals, so at best you’re getting 1500 calories a day.

Which is great if you want to detox or you have a small appetite, but not so good for the bigger folk and hungry people like me. I ended up going down into the town to supplement my meals with snacks, though you can also buy extra meals from the café.

If you’re someone who likes to eat, I’d recommend picking up some snacks on your way up to Eagle’s Nest, though it’s important to keep food well wrapped to avoid attracting ants and other insects to your room.

The café also sells beer and wine, but at Q50 (£5 or $6.30) for a small glass it’s not cheap. Megan and I bought a bottle of white in town for Q80 and the café staff kindly let us put it in the fridge, so we were able to have cold wine with our dinner.

Read more: Backpacking in Guatemala: All You Need To Know Before You Go

Ready to book your stay at Eagle’s Nest Atitlán? Click the button below, or carry on reading to find out more.

Eagles Nest Yoga Retreat

One of the main attractions of a stay at Eagle’s Nest is the yoga classes, which take place on the beautiful yoga platform overlooking the lake.

There are 90-minute morning and afternoon yoga classes included in the price of your room. Yoga is taught by visiting teachers who live in San Marcos town, so the style of yoga varies from day to day but all of it is advertised on a board in the reception area.

Morning yoga is from 8-9.30 am, and from 4.30-6 pm. At weekends the morning class starts at 9 am. Sometimes there are additional ad hoc classes and events at other times; these will be advertised in reception.

Read more: A Perfect Guatemala Itinerary In 10 Days, 2 Weeks Or 3 Weeks

I just turned up and did whatever, so ended up with a gentle yin and breath work class one afternoon, and a more energetic Ashtanga vinyasa class on another morning, both of which I enjoyed.

I loved the feeling of the breeze on my skin and the sounds of birdsong while taking in the stunning views of the lake – it’s a really great way to unwind.

My only complaint about the yoga is that when I visited the yoga mats and blocks were tatty, ancient and filthy. Given that yoga is the main reason people come here, Eagle’s Nest definitely need to take a look at this.

With so much traffic coming through they should really be replacing the mats at least once a year and providing cloths and cleaning spray so that people can wipe them after every session.

However someone did tell me that new ones are on the way, so they may have been replaced by the time you get there.

Sauna and surprise nudity at Eagle’s Nest

Eagle’s Nest also has its own traditional wood-fired sauna or ‘Temascal’, which is inspired by Maya sauna culture. It’s lit three days a week so you can get your spiritual sweat on with a whole bunch of random strangers during your stay.

According to the website, the sauna is “round and the entrance is made from the floor. Enter in from the ground, climbing up a ladder, entering different realms. Regressing back into the womb or wherever your journey might take you.”

I’m not entirely convinced of the value of sitting in a small dark room getting hot and bored, but this sounded like an experience I needed to at least try while I was at Eagles Nest. So Megan and I put on our bikinis and headed down to the sauna to see what it was all about.

The first surprise was that when we arrived at the area where we could leave our towels, there was a naked and tattooed woman spreadeagled on the bench.

I’m not especially prudish but I was a bit taken aback, as I wasn’t expecting to see a completely starkers woman just lying there with all her bits on display in the middle of the day.

She pointed us in the direction of the sauna entrance – which is a small circular wooden hatch in the ceiling of a narrow stone corridor, accessed by a wooden ladder. Tentatively, Megan climbed up, pushed up the door, and stuck her head into the roof space.

Arriving this way meant that as we entered the Temascal, we were at direct eye level with the exposed genitalia of the four other naked men and women sitting in a circle around the entrance.

Somewhat flustered by the unfamiliar location, the proximity of so many naked bits, and the realisation that we were overdressed, we managed to climb up into the sauna, find room on the benches and close the hatch behind us, plunging the room into semi darkness.

At which point I realised that I had just voluntarily clambered into a pizza oven.

The space was tiny – they say it holds 12 but with just six of us it already felt crowded. The darkness, intense heat and searing humidity was suffocating, and I had to close my eyes and focus on my breathing to quell the rising claustrophobic panic.

But I couldn’t leave. No way could I be the person who showed up in a bikini, stayed just 30 seconds, then freaked out and ran away.

Gradually I started to get used to the experience. One of the naked guys was quite chatty, which provided a distraction, and one of the women started singing a soulful Spanish song in a lustrous voice that resonated beautifully in the circular space.

So yes, dear reader, there I was in Guatemala sitting in a pizza oven with a bunch of naked strangers having a singalong.

But I guess that’s what travel’s all about, right?

After we’d stuck it out for a socially acceptable length of time, it was time for the second part: the cold plunge pool. That’s when the chatty naked guy appeared to advise us on the best technique, and despite the uninviting colour of the water, we both went in to complete the experience.

Apparently you’re supposed to do three rounds, but once was enough for me.

Ecstatic dance at Eagle’s Nest San Marcos

But our brush with San Marcos’s spiritual community and their intriguing habits was not quite over yet. That same day Eagle’s Nest was hosting an Ecstatic Dance event.

This involved turning the yoga space into a dancefloor with a DJ, so that people could come and dance around all afternoon and – by the looks of things, though I cannot confirm this – consume various mind-altering substances.

So after our sauna experience Megan and I went to check it out, just to see what it was all about, and maybe join in for a bit if the mood took us. I’m not much of a dancer, but when in Rome, right?

Two dozen long-haired men and women in tank tops or flowing dresses were wheeling round the dance floor, eyes closed and heads bobbing from side to side. A slim woman wearing nothing except a rainbow-coloured skirt span in circles, naked boobs bouncing in time to the music. A large topless man with a huge bushy beard and a leather strap round his neck jumped up and down, while several couples gyrated enthusiastically into one another.

Meanwhile, in the seating area another naked woman was lying face down on a bench, straddled by a shirtless man who was intensely focussed on giving her a massage, while a pair of guys played lounge duets on the electronic piano.

Megan and I looked at each other and decided we were far too sober for all this, so we headed back to our room.

Later, I asked her what she would write in her review of Eagle’s Nest. She thought for a moment, and then delivered her one-line summary:

“I liked it, but I wasn’t expecting the penis.”

Lake Atitlan yoga retreat: my verdict

So after staying three days and nights at Eagle’s Nest Atitlan, would I recommend it?

Overall I enjoyed the experience, but for me three nights (the minimum length of stay we could book) was plenty.

I particularly enjoyed the yoga classes with the stunning views, the chilled out evenings in the communal sitting area, and playing with the cats.

I didn’t much love the bugs getting into our room, the compost toilets, and the manky blankets and yoga mats.

So you need to decide if this is the place for you. You’ll probably love it if…

• You’re happy to put up with a basic standard of accommodation, shared bathrooms and quite a few bugs in exchange for peace and tranquility in a unique location.
• You enjoy yoga and either have your own practice or are happy to take a variety of classes.
• You’re looking for somewhere to chill out without much to do.
• You’re mobile and able to manage a bit of a hike to get there and a lot of steps up and down.
• You’re not a big eater (or are happy to supplement the food with your own snacks).
• You can tolerate American digital nomad bros having Microsoft Teams meetings loudly on their laptops.
• You’re not alarmed by naked people getting friendly.
• You don’t mind the smell of weed or overhearing chat about how many mushrooms people have eaten.
• You’re not allergic to cats – there were four cats and three kittens here when we went, though numbers may have changed when you visit.

Visiting Eagle’s Nest Atitlan – Some Tips and FAQs

How much does Eagle’s Nest cost?

Megan and I paid US$ 370 (or £240) for three nights in a twin room with shared bathrooms, which works out to US$61 (or £50) a night.

Given that this includes twice daily yoga, the sauna and ecstatic dancing, and three meals a day, I think that it was reasonable value for money, though I would have liked to see the portion sizes of the meals increased and the blankets, soft furnishings and mats cleaned or replaced more regularly.

What are some other things to do near Eagles Nest Retreat?

The main reason to come to Eagle’s Nest is to chill out, relax and do yoga, but if you’re looking for something to do, it’s easy to walk or take a tuk-tuk down the hill to explore the village of San Marcos.

San Marcos is sometimes described as a village of two halves, where the local Maya population live up on the hillsides, and the immigrant white community has taken over the downhill part next to the lakeshore.

Here there are a couple of narrow cobbled streets overflowing with shops selling second-hand and upcycled clothing, jewellery, souvenirs, crystals, wellness and healing paraphernalia, tattoos, massages, and quite a lot of the same hippy tat you’ll find in London’s Camden market.

There are also several nice-looking restaurants, bakeries and ice cream parlours, including one called Xocolatl where I had an incredible banana and chocolate crepe bigger than my head. Highly recommended if, like me, you’re feeling a bit underfed up at Eagle’s Nest.

Read more: Lake Atitlan For Beginners: How To Visit Guatemala’s #1 Spot

Is Eagle’s Nest Atitlan a cult?

Apparently some people think that there’s a cult associated with a yoga retreat in Guatemala – but honestly if there is, I never saw any evidence of it.

Yes some people at Eagle’s Nest were a bit hippy – and of course there are plenty of people who think that if you’re into yoga then you’re already in a cult, but no one tried to sign me up to anything I didn’t want to do, take away my passport, or demand money (apart from paying for my stay!).

So don’t worry, as far as I’m aware there are no cults associated with any San Marcos yoga retreat in Guatemala!

Where are some other good hotels in Lake Atitlan?

From San Marcos it’s also easy enough to get a boat to any of the other lake towns to explore them for the day, though if sightseeing is more your thing, I’d probably advise you to stay somewhere a bit more accessible than Eagle’s Nest, which is more of a retreat than a base for sightseeing.

Instead, you could try one of the following:

• La Iguana Perdida, Santa Cruz la Laguna – a popular and sociable hostel with dorms and private rooms and communal dining, set in beautiful gardens close to the lakeshore.
• Sababa Resort, San Pedro La Laguna – one of the most popular places to stay in San Pedro, with a pool and yoga included.
• Or for a taste of genuine luxury on the lake, splash out and head to the stunning boutique hotel Casa Palopó just outside the colourful town of Santa Caterina Palopó.

How to get to San Marcos Lake Atitlan

Most people travel to San Marcos from Panajachel, the gateway town to Lake Atitlan. Public ‘chicken’ buses and tourist shuttles go to Pana (as it’s locally known) from all over the country many times a day – just ask your hotel to help you arrange transport.

We travelled there by private tourist shuttle from Antigua. It cost Q120 per person (about £12 or USD15) and took about two hours.

You can also get shuttles that drive you all the way to San Marcos for Q175, but these take around four hours on very bumpy and twisty roads so are not advised. It’s far quicker and more pleasant to get the bus to Pana and then a boat to San Marcos.

The shuttle will drop you a short walk from the ‘muelle’ or pier in Pana. Just walk down to the waterfront and ask someone which is the boat going to San Marcos. Boats travel around the lake every 20 minutes or so, so you shouldn’t have to wait long.

From Pana the boat will travel in an anticlockwise direction, stopping at Santa Cruz and a couple of other places before getting to San Marcos. The journey took us about 25 minutes and cost Q25 (about £2.50 or US$3.15) per person.

How to get to Eagles Nest Guatemala

From the boat dock in San Marcos it’s about a 30-minute walk up a very steep hill to get to Eagle’s Nest. Far easier, and not very expensive, is to take a tuk tuk from the main street.

The driver will drop you off at the start of the path that leads to Eagle’s Nest. From here it’s still a 10-minute walk uphill (and a lot of steps) to get to the hostel, just follow the signs and painted arrows and you’ll get there eventually!

If you’re just coming up for the day and not carrying any gear, walking the whole way is a more feasible idea.

Should I stay at Eagles Nest or just visit for the day?

You don’t need to commit to a three-night stay at Eagle’s Nest in order to enjoy the views and the yoga. If that sounds like too much, I’d recommend staying in San Marcos town for a night or two and just coming up for the day.

If you’re not staying at Eagle’s Nest, yoga classes cost Q150 (about £15 or US$18) per person. You could come for a morning class and stay for lunch, or come up for lunch, chill out for a couple of hours, do the afternoon yoga class and then head back to town.

Read more: The Complete Guide To Xela Guatemala: Things To See And Do

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Where to next?

If you enjoyed this yoga classes Lake Atitlan post, why not try some of my others?

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