City Info
Guatemala | Antigua

Antigua Guatemala is a city in the central mountains of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish New World Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruined churches. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site!


Antigua Guatemala serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. Central Park is the heart of the city. The reconstructed fountain in particular is very beautiful. People enjoy this park from early in the morning to late at night. Nowadays, Antigua is noted for its very elaborate religious celebrations leading up to Holy Week and Easter.

Also our partner Spanish language school is located in Antigua. Students are usually housed with local host families. They can engage in many other activities apart from immersion language courses. Tourists come to see all that Antigua has to offer, including nightlife, bars, restaurants, markets selling Mayan goods, and excursions via shuttles to surrounding sites.

Three large volcanoes dominate the horizon around Antigua.

The most commanding, to the south of the city, is the Volcán de Agua or "Volcano of Water", some 3766 meters (12 356 feet) high. It is so named because the crater atop it was formerly filled with water. Shortly after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala, the first capital was on a site part-way up this mountain. It was destroyed by a flood and mudslide when an earthquake let loose the water from the crater, and the capital of Guatemala was moved down the valley to the current Antigua. The original site is a village now known as "Ciudad Vieja", ("The Old City").

To the west of the city are a pair of peaks, Acatenango, long inactive, some 3976 meters (13045 feet) high, and the Volcán de Fuego or "Volcano of Fire", some 3763 meters (12346 feet) high. "Fuego" is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Smoke issues from its top daily, but larger eruptions are rare.