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Santa María de Jesús
 Up above Antigua, a smooth new sealed road snakes through the coffee bushes and past the village of San Juan del Obispo before arriving in SANTA MARÍA DE JESÚS , starting point for the ascent of Volcán Agua. Perched high on the shoulder of the volcano, the village is some 500m above Antigua, with magnificent views over the Panchoy valley and east towards the smoking cone of Pacaya. The village was founded at the end of the sixteenth century and is of little interest, though the women wear beautiful purple huipiles . There's also a good little hospedaje here, El Oasis (tel 832 0130; up to US$5), just below the plaza, if you want to make an early start. Buses run from Antigua to Santa María every hour or so from 6am to 5pm, and the trip takes thirty minutes.
Volcán Agua is the easiest and by far the most popular of Guatemala's big cones to climb - on some Saturday nights hundreds of people spend the night at the top. The trail starts in Santa María de Jesús: head straight across the plaza, between the two ageing pillars, and up the street opposite the church doors. Take a right turn just before the end, and then continue past the cemetery and out of the village. From here it's a fairly simple climb on a clear path, cutting across the road that goes some of the way up. The climb can take anything from four to six hours, and the peak, at 3766m, is always cold at night. There is shelter (though not always room) in a small chapel at the summit, however, and the views certainly make it worth the struggle.
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