Chapala Chapala Is Located Approximately 45 Kilometers South of the Guatamala Airport

Chapala Chapala is located approximately 45 kilometers south of the Guatamala airport. It is located on the north shore of Lake Chapala (altitude 1,525 meters) which is the largest lake in Mexico measuring some 76 kilometers long and 16 kilometeres wide. The municipality includes about 10,000 in the town of Ajijic. Ajijic is approximately 10 kilometers west of Chapala also on the north shore of Lake Chapala. Geologically, Lake Chapala is the remnant of Lake Jalisco, an ancient body of water measuring approximately 8500 square miles compared to the 825 square miles which is the surface area of the current Lake Chapala. Lake Jalisco formed during the late Pleistocene era, about 38,000 years ago, a date that has been confirmed by carbon dating. The ancient populations that inhabited the lake area came and went as the waters rose and receded. There were also many huge prehistoric animals in the area at the time - mastodons, mountain lions, jaguars, camels, and others - all now extinct. Chapala, or "Chapalean" was a pre-Hispanic settlement dating back to sometime in the XII century A.D., when a migrating tribe of náhuatl indians, originating from the northwestern section of the country, settled here and found the northern shore of the lake already quite populated, as was described by Friar Antonio Tello, a Franciscan historian. Four centuries later, in the year 1524, once they amalgamated with the Coca and Cazcano indians who inhabited the shore from Poncitlán to Jocotepec, including Ajijic and Cosalá, together. Ajijic Mexico Ajijic (Spanish pronunciation: [axiˈxik] is a town about 3 miles east (4.8 km) from the town of Chapala, part of the municipality also called Chapala, in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Situated on the north shore of Lake Chapala, surrounded by mountains, Ajijic enjoys a moderate climate year- round. The population of Ajijic was 10,509 as of the 2010 census. Geography Ajijic is located (at 20°18″N, 103°15″W) 5,046 feet (1,538 m) above sea level in the vast central Mexican plateau that is home to the Sierra Madre mountain range. The Chapala Lake basin has a year-round average temperature of about 72 °F (22 °C). Due to Ajijic’s tropical latitude, the sun is warm year-round; due to its relatively high elevation, it is seldom unpleasantly hot or humid. The rainy season begins in June and lasts until October with an average rainfall of approximately 34 inches (860 mm) in total over those five months. Even during the rainy season, precipitation generally occurs during the evening or at night. December and January are the coolest months and May is the hottest, just before the onset of the rainy season. Overall, there is very little temperature variation year-round: daytime highs in January are around 75 °F (24 °C); daytime highs in May are around 80 °F (27 °C) to 90 °F (32 °C). History Chapel in the main plaza Up until the arrival of the Spanish, the region was occupied by nomadic Indian tribes, probably the Cocas tribe that settled the northern shore. There seem to be many explanations, and meanings for the names Chapala and Ajijic, all of which are Indian place names, probably derived from Nahuatl, the native language of the area. Ajijic’s population of 10,509 (2010 census) excludes the hundreds of visitors from Guadalajara (35 miles (56 km) north) who spend weekends and vacations there. Many retired Americans and Canadians now live in Ajijic, about 1,000 full-time and another 700 during the winter months. As a result of these foreign residents and visitors, Ajijic has numerous art galleries, fashion and curio shops, as well as restaurants and bed and breakfast inns. The Lake Chapala Society on the grounds of the former estate of Neill James in central Ajijic has about 3,000 mostly foreign members. It serves as a focus of over 50 expat activities and services for the estimated 40,000 foreign residents[3] who live around Lake Chapala. Mexico’s National Chili Cook-Off has been held in Ajijic since 1978 and currently attracts thousands of Mexican and International visitors each February. .

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