Comala

The best time to be in Colima is on a clear winter day when the volcanoes in the Parque Nacional Nevado de Colima dominate the scenery to the north. Climbing them, while not that difficult, needs some planning. You can get a closer look, however, by spending an afternoon at Comala, a tidy, quaint town, 10km north of Colima. Here, in the central plaza, you can sip a beer or margarita while enjoying a fantastic view of the mountains and listening to mariachi bands competing for your business.

A thirty-minute stroll out of town, in the Centro Cultural Nogueras, the Museo Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo (t312/315-6028) has an engaging display of the eponymous artist’s work as well as pre-Hispanic artefacts from Hidalgo’s personal collection. Known for his evocative book illustrations, he drew the pictures for the classic Mexican novel Pedro Páramo, which was written by his close friend Juan Rulfo and set in Comala (Hidalgo died in 2000 at the age of 73).