We spent a wonderful morning watching birds with Benjamin. This guide was invaluable: his knowledge, patience and calm allowed us to discover the birds of San Juan. Very friendly, he made us discover his region, he was very attentive to our rythm. We are delighted to have taken this time with him for this ornithological walk. I highly recommend this unique experience!

Can’t speak more highly of Benjamin! As our guide, he made the coffee farm tour an unforgettable experience. The route was gorgeous, as it took us across San Juan outskirts along the coffee farms where Benjamin educated us on the entire end to end coffee production process. Benjamin was great company to be around. After the tour, he showed my partner and I around San Juan. He introduced us to authentic Guatemalan food then took us to a women’s weaving cooperative. This was all on his own time! Highly recommend both Benjamin and the Coffee farm tour.

Went on a morning bird watching tour with Benjamin in San Juan. It was fantastic and Benjamin was so knowledgeable- we learned so much! Would 100% recommend.

Benjamin is an amazing guide. His knowledge of the landscape and its inhabitants ( of all species) is just amazing. He is extremely generous with sharing the knowledge and the stories he has learnt growing in Mayan communities. Having the chance to spend time with Benjamin is not only a leaning experience its a gift. Thank you Benjamin Anne

Ben was a fantastic guide on our hike to Mayan Face, and around the village of San Juan. He was very knowledgeable of the area and offered retreat recommendations for our trip. Ben also went way above and beyond to also help us get our missing luggage as a result of an airport delay, for which we are grateful!! 10/10 recommend booking with Ben!!

Me and my partner went on a bird watching tour with Benjamín in the morning. It was really great, and Benjamin was super knowledgeable about everything. I definitely recommend this trip!

Benjamin is a knowledgeable, friendly, and fantastic tour guide. We arranged a quetzal excursion with him from the Lake Atitlan region and he organized all aspects of our transport to the mountain hiking area, including an early morning boat ride and pickup truck. Once on our hike, Benjamin proved to be an expert at locating and identifying local birds - including specialties like quetzals, guans, and motmots. He has fabulous ears and could pinpoint a variety of resident and migratory species in the field. We were a group of birders and non-birders and Benjamin was very agile in discussing facts about the forest and keeping the whole group engaged. After our tour, Benjamin even taught us about local Mayan language and culture and took us to several cultural points of interest in Santiago Atitlan. I wish that we had more than one day to bird with Benjamin - I would hire him to take us throughout Guatemala, and I hope to bird together again some day!

Best tours in all of Lake Atitlan! Loved our time with Ben last year so much we decided to visit again with some friends. Mayan Face, Paquisis, and Volcan Atitlan were all incredible experiences. We all clicked with Ben right away as if we've been friends for years. He's the perfect guide, super knowledgeable, keeps things fun, and knows the best routes and viewing points. Can't wait to come back for a third year. Thanks Ben, see you soon!

It was really nice meeting our guide Benjamin, he was truly professional and caring with us. His English was excellent and he gave us many interesting insights about the the Guatemalan life, nature and the Mayan culture. It was a great experience

My friend and I both agreed that this was the best tour we have ever been on. We woke up super early, Benjamin met us outside our hotel and lead us to the base of the mountain where we ascended for about two hours or so to the top. We made it in time for sunrise and although the hike was challenging it was one of my absolute favorites. Benjamin is so knowledgeable with plants, nature, birds, etc. It was a joy learning from him, and I only wish that I lived closer and I could go on another tour. Definitely recommend choosing this tour over another, you will not regret!

Loved it! Hiked Mayan Face with Benjamin. He’s an excellent guide who pointed out several rare plants and birds on the hike. Very professional. I wish I had more vacation time for more hikes with them. Absolutely recommend this company.

We did the sunrise tour with Benjamín and it was fantastic. He kept an eye on us the whole time and asked several times if he should adjust the speed (slower/faster). We started at 3:30 and arrived at the summit at 5:30. Benjamin explained a lot about San Juan, the wildlife (birds, plants, etc.) and life in Guatemala in general. The sunrise was fantastic. We had a beautiful view over the lake and the 7 volcanoes. We even got a little coffee up there which was very nice! I can't recommend Benjamín enough!

I found Guatemala Cumbres through a blog and figured out that it was part of Guatemala authentic nature. I was staying in San Pedro and wanted to do a hike on Xmas day, but none of the tour agencies in San Pedro offered Atitlan hike (even outside of Xmas day). Was lucky to find Benjamin who offered me 600Q for a one day hike to the summit of Atitlan. The hike started around 530am when we took a boat to Santiago (it made a small detour to San Marcos to pick others but was glad to even get a boat on Xmas day). From Santiago docks, we took a pickup truck to the starting point at 1840m, which was about 15min drive. The hike itself is a 1700m ascent and another 1700m descent. From photos online, the views would have been amazing because you’d be able to see San Pedro and toliman and then acatenango and fuego on the other side, but we weren’t very lucky with the weather. Clouds started to build up midway through our hike and there was basically no view towards the end. We waited for an hour at the summit before deciding to leave. Overall, it’s an intense hike given the total height you’re covering (going 1700m up and down hits your legs hard) and also the total distance. It was about 10km each way. You could break up the hike by choosing the 2d1n option. This gives you the chance for a sunrise view but that would be abit more expensive and that would mean camping at the summit, ie no shelter from the strong winds and would be very cold. The ground is also all rocks so you’d need to bring a thick sleeping mat for some comfort. There’s also the risk that it would be cloudy and no sunrise view. Regardless, if you choose to do the hike, I’d recommend doing it with Benjamin. He did a good job as a guide. Along the way, he made transfers between places east and also introduced to me the different plants and birds you see in the forest. I also appreciated that he offered me coffee and his tamal on the summit. It’s an active volcano so there are steam vents at the top which he used to warm up the tamal. That was pretty cool. He’s also very fit so he was certainly going at a pretty fast pace. I wanted to challenge myself and follow his pace but ended up needing breaks. He stops to check on you regularly so make sure you stop as you need or ask for breaks!

Benjamin took my friend and I on a nature walk/hike from Santa Cruz to San Marcos, during which we weaved in and out of the woods, saw a small waterfall, passed through several Mayan towns, and experienced wonderful views of Lake Atitlan. Benjamin is incredibly knowledgeable about wildlife and flora and fauna in Guatemala (and even beyond!) as we were able to compare and contrast plants and animals found in the US and in Guate and other places we've traveled. It's also worth mentioning that Benjamin's English is pretty much perfect which was really helpful for us who aren't entirely fluent. But we also had lovely conversations in Spanish too! I highly recommend this hike (easy-moderate as there is ton of elevation gain) as a way to see numerous towns, be in nature, and see the lake from various viewpoints. Beyond the hike, I recommend including Benjamin as a guide in your Guate plans!

What a quietly beautiful experience! Benjamín (Audubon-trained) took us through a trail in the cloud forest that brought us to so many species of birds. I have a special talent for not seeing birds that everyone else can see, but his equipment enabled me to see and photograph them. After the tour, he provided a list of the species we had seen. If you are going birding anywhere in the Lake Atitlán region, do it with Benjamín!