Things to do
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Acatenango
Overnight treks up this volcano end at a camp level with neighbouring Fuego, which erupts every few minutes through the night. The route climbs through cloud forest and farmland into thin air, and the summit push before dawn is cold enough for frost. Operators supply tents and warm layers, and fitness and acclimatisation decide how hard the day feels.
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Casa Santo Domingo
Ruins of a Dominican monastery were absorbed into a hotel and museum complex where crypts, a colonial art collection and a candlelit courtyard sit alongside guest rooms. Six small museums cover archaeology, silverwork and pre Columbian ceramics, and the grounds stay open to visitors paying at the gate. Evening is when the candles and the ruined nave do their work.
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Cerro de la Cruz
Stone steps climb from the north edge of town to a cross on a wooded hill, about twenty minutes of steady uphill. The reward is the full grid of Antigua laid out below with Agua closing the frame. Tourist police patrol the path by day, and the walk is unwise after dark.
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Convento de las Capuchinas
Nuns of the Capuchin order lived here from 1736 until the earthquake closed the city, and the shell of their convent is the best preserved of Antigua's ruins. A circular tower of eighteen cells around a central courtyard is the oddity worth the walk, along with vaulted cellars that stay cool at midday. Entry is ticketed and the courtyard is calm before mid morning.
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Hobbitenango
Up a rough track in the hills above Antigua sits a built attraction of turf roofed cabins, swings over the valley and a giant hand sculpture made for photographs. Views across the highlands are genuine even where the theming is manufactured. Shuttles run from town, weekends draw long queues for the swing, and afternoon cloud can erase the panorama entirely.
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Pacaya
Half a day covers the easier of Antigua's two volcano hikes, a guided walk up black scree to a lava field that still radiates heat close to the surface. Guides sell marshmallows to toast over the vents, and horses wait at the trailhead for anyone flagging. Activity varies, so a visible lava flow is never promised.
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Santa Catalina Arch
A yellow arch spans Fifth Avenue North, built in the 1600s so cloistered nuns could cross the street unseen. Volcán de Agua lines up behind it, which is why the view draws a crowd from first light and again at dusk. Traffic still runs underneath, so the good angle means standing in the road between cars.