Volcán de Ipala is a 1650m volcano, notable for its especially beautiful clear crater lake measuring nearly 1km around and nestled below the summit at 1493m. The dramatic hike to the top takes you from 800m to 1650m in about two hours, though you can drive halfway up in a car. There are trails, a visitor center and a campsite on the shores of the lake. To get there, take a bus from Chiquimula (1½ hours) or Jalapa (two hours) to Ipala and transfer to a microbus to Agua Blanca (Q6, every 15 minutes). The trailhead is at El Sauce just before Agua Blanca; look for the blue Inguat sign. You might luck on to a pickup to Aldea Chigüiton, where the road ends, 2km from the highway. You may be able to rent a horse in Chigüiton. Of the very limited accommodation options in downtown Ipala, the Hotel Peña is about the best, altough it may be worth the 10 minute walk to the Hotel Dorado which offers new, vaguely modern room out on te highway to Agua Blanca. There are banks with ATM and comedores around the plaza. Restaurante El Original is a down-home steakhouse which does a good flame-grilled chicken. Buses pull up a block away from Ipala's plaza, from where everything listed here is an easy walk.
