Los Altos

Los Altos ("the heights") lives up to its name: it sits at almost 2,900 metres above sea level on the slopes of the Cofre de Perote volcano, in the high, cold country of central Veracruz. It belongs to the municipality of Ayahualulco but is larger than the municipal seat: the 2020 census counted 4,556 people here against 2,823 in Ayahualulco, making it the most populous place in the municipality.

This is volcanic mountain country. Ayahualulco ranges from 1,200 to 4,200 metres, on volcanic rock and dark ash soils that are almost all given over to farming, and the upper reaches have cool to cold climates with summer rain. Maize and potatoes are the main crops, and on the open ground around the village you may meet cowboys driving goats beneath the volcano.

The village's calendar turns on one date: 24 June, the patronal feast of Saint John the Baptist. A month later, from 24 to 27 July, the municipal seat honours Saint James with dances, horse races, rodeo-style jaripeos and processions on horseback. The municipality's name comes from Nahuatl atl (water), yahualli (something round) and co (place), roughly "place of the lake".