Volcano skylines fill the horizon, and then your eyes drop to the small things: a thread of bright colour in a hand-woven sleeve, steam rising from a pot on a street corner. The lowlands lie thick with forest, the highlands fold into cool valleys, and each town keeps its own colours, songs and customs.
The climate is tropical, hot and humid in the lowlands and cooler up in the highlands, so a trip can climb from warm air to chilly evenings in a single day. A Local Friend tells you when to set out early for open views and when to linger a little longer.
