Located in Guatemala’s central highlands and filled with some beautifully preserved Spanish Mudéjar-influenced Baroque architecture, Antigua is one of the country’s most visually stunning cities.
Dominated by the imposing presence of three volcanoes, including the still active Volcán de Fuego (Volcano of Fire), the city was once the capital of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, which encompassed almost all of Central America and southern Mexico.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city today is noted for its elaborate street processions during Lent, Easter, and Holy Week (Semana Santa), when it hosts some of the most remarkable religious celebrations in the Americas. Purple-robed men and women adorned in black parade through the streets with effigies of Christ and the Virgin Mary, the cobbled streets along their path lying blanketed under carpets of dyed sawdust and flowers.
Coupled with the surrounding landscape and the fading colonial elegance of its Spanish heritage, the city presents a truly mesmerizing setting.
