Popocatépetl is one of the highest volcanoes in North America, at about 5,400 metres, and it still smokes. From Mexico City on a clear winter day you can see the plume, and on the south side, in the state of Morelos, the foothills are dotted with the monasteries that the first Spanish friars built in the sixteenth century. They arrived in waves, Franciscans in 1524, Dominicans in 1526 and Augustinians in 1533, and in a few decades they converted and taught the people of the valleys, building fortress-like convents with open-air chapels, huge atria for crowds, and cloisters decorated with painted scenes. Eleven of them became a World Heritage group in 1994.
Atlatlahucan, an Augustinian foundation of the 1570s, is one of the best. The church is solid and plain from outside, with a stout facade and a belfry, but inside the cloister there are murals in black and white, executed by indigenous artists in a technique known as grisaille, showing saints and symbols in vivid detail. Nearby Tlayacapan, Yecapixtla and Oaxtepec have their own monasteries, and the region is known for its carnival with the chinelos, masked dancers in feathered hats and velvet robes who leap and spin.
The roads here are among the most enjoyable in central Mexico. From Cuernavaca or Cuautla they run through hills of maize fields, orchards and rocky outcrops, with views of the volcano on a clear morning. Roads between the villages are narrow, with sharp curves, and topes appear in every village. Rain in summer can bring landslides and flooding. The volcano has an exclusion zone, and eruptions have occasionally closed roads and dusted the villages with ash, so check the status before heading to the higher slopes.
Atlatlahucan is a town of about eight thousand with fuel and food, and the region is known for its mole, its tamales and its fruit, especially the sweet ones from Oaxtepec. Visitors are welcome in the churches but should respect services and dress modestly. The best months are November to April, when the skies are clear and the air is dry, and early morning is a good time to see the volcano.