Central America and volcanoes go hand in hand. They’re everywhere! Guatemala, on its own, has thirty seven! A crazy amount!
Acatenango is one of them and has fast become one of the must do bucket list experiences for those travelling Guatemala and Central America. It’s an overnight hike where you climb and camp on one volcano, Acatenango, and watch a second active volcano, Fuego, erupt and spurt lava! Extremely cool!
I’d seen lava previously at Masaya volcano in Nicaragua, but having the chance to see lava erupt out an active volcano, whilst standing on another, was another matter entirely. I was super keen to do it!! So so different to anything I’d seen before!
Antigua was my first stop in Guatemala and the base for any Acatenango trip. I stayed in Antigua for nearly a week and hiked Acatenango toward the end of my stay. It was incredible! Here’s how it went…
The tour
Day One
We were picked up at 8am on a Sunday morning and driven to our company’s place outside of Antigua to collect our food, water, jackets, headtorches, gloves etc…
When we all had the gear and bags sorted (I switched between my small and big bags several times!), we got back on the bus and drove to the hike’s start point.
Tip: Take a bigger bag than you think and save yourself repacking when you realise a 20L rucksack is going to be a tight squeeze. I had my 20L day pack which for an overnight trip is usually plenty. I really felt it was unnecessary to take my 65L Osprey rucksack. However, bear in mind for Acatenango, you need to carry 4L of water, all your warm layers (big jacket, down jackets), and your three meals. Plus anything else you think you may need. Our company, CA Travellers, gave us an extra sleep liner for our sleeping bags. I think I could’ve squeezed it all into my 20L bag with my meal box strapped to the outside, but it wouldn’t have been comfy. Last minute I repacked into my big rucksack and I’m glad I did. It wasn’t full and it was much easier!
I reckon we started walking around 10.30am. Word on the Acatenango grapevine was that the first hour was the steepest and hardest. They weren’t wrong! The first hour was challenging and constantly uphill and slippy at parts with big steps.
Starting altitude: 2250m
Tip: There’s a man renting wooden walking sticks for the climb for Q.5 (£1 approx). I rented one and I recommend doing the same! I was either walking steeply uphill or steeply downhill and it really came in handy – especially for the descent! You could rent two if you’d like more support.
It’s the first hike I’ve done in a few months and my legs seriously felt it! I was really hoping it got easier! We stopped for several breaks, one being the entrance office where we registered and paid the Q.50 (£5 approx) entrance fee.
Onwards and upwards we continued, putting our ponchos on as the rain started to fall. It didn’t fall for long and we had a dry lunch break. Wow, the food was really good – especially the ranch dressing!
After lunch, we continued to walk uphill but it was easier than the first part that morning. We arrived to camp around 3.15pm and I spent the rest of the afternoon volcano watching. The weather changes so fast. When we arrived clouds were hiding Fuego from sight, they then cleared for a period and then rolled in again.
Altitude at camp: 3600m
Hours to camp: 4hrs45 (including breaks and lunch)
It was chilly and I was soon putting on my layers and happily drinking a cup of hot chocolate! We followed a short trail out of camp to see the sunset. By this point the clouds had moved in again and weren’t shifting any time soon! No sunset!
Back at camp, it was time for dinner and again it was really good! We had pasta bolognese with garlic butter bread, red wine and marshmellows for pudding. Roasting marshmellows over an open fire is always fun! There was a mini competition to see who could roast the best marshmallow!
The clouds and fog still hadn’t cleared and we were unsure as to whether it would. It started to rain again and quite a few of the group headed to their tents.
Caitlin and I hung on outside hoping and hoping and shortly after the clouds started to lift and clear. At around 9pm, we had a great view of Fuego volcano and it erupted to our cheers!
Seeing lava erupt out of an active volcano was incredible. The glowing sparkling red lava and embers is so magical!! Nature is awesome! We stood together, cheering each time there was a big eruption!
It was pretty cold at this point and in anticipation of the early 3.45am wake up call the next day, people started heading to bed. I stayed up for a while longer – I couldn’t leave! It was so amazing to watch! I couldn’t think of another time, any time soon, when I’d be standing on one volcano watching another one erupt – truly a unique and memorable experience!
I finally got in my tent and fell asleep to the blasts and rumbles of Fuego.
Tip: It gets cold up there so take plenty of layers! Most companies include a jacket, gloves and hat in their package – use that to your advantage if you’re lacking in warm clothes! I’ve been carrying my warm layers from the beginning for Patagonia and they came in handy once again. I still took one of the agency’s jackets too! Better to have the layers than not enough!
Day Two
A 3.45am wake up call and we started walking at 4.30am.
Tip: On the second day you walk to Acatenango’s peak for sunrise. Our agency (and most others) will give you a headtorch for this ascent. If you have your own headtorch, I recommend taking it! It’ll be much brighter than the one you are given. I frustratingly left mine fully charged at my hostel and had to use theirs. It was much bigger, had a weak light and ran out of battery entirely in the first 15 minutes of the sunrise hike. Our guide kindly gave me his to use for the rest of the uphill.
This final uphill to the peak, along with the first hour at the very beginning, are highlighted as the hardest parts by backpackers and tour companies alike. Given that I’d found the first hour on Day One tough, I was expecting the final ascent to be equally as tough, if not tougher.
To my surprise I found the 1hr15 hike up fine. I’m putting it down to Day One preparing me and also the Huayhuash trek I did in Peru – Day 5 was a steep uphill struggle at altitude.
Walking under the starry night sky with Fuego volcano erupting every so often was crazy cool! The views from the top were stunning – a gorgeous sunrise paired with an erupting volcano and great company! I was so happy with the weather!
Altitude at top: 3976m
Hours to top: 1hr15
We headed down at 6.30am and got back to camp just after 7am. So much quicker going down! We took a slightly different route and were able to run (in my case slowly!) down in the deep shale. It reminded me of running down sanddunes in Aberdovey, Wales – this time it was a volcano!
Back at camp, we had breakfast and packed our bags. We started our descent at 8.30am and wow was it tough on my legs! The steep parts from the first day were even worse going down! Slow and steady was my motto!
We got back to where our bus waited at 11am. My legs were thankful it was quicker down!
A final group pic later and we returned to our company’s house to collect our belongings, return gear and enjoy a refreshing fruit smoothie.
We arrived back to Antigua at midday. I spent the afternoon relaxing, sorting my stuff, handing in washing and an early dinner with a few of the group. We went to Tocu Baru for a great Indian!
Weather
The best time to hike Acatenango is in the dry season, November to April. It’s not always possible to travel in the best season and in my case I arrived to Central America and Guatemala in the wet season.
During the rainy season, to October, the days are less clear (and obviously wetter) which makes seeing a volcano erupt less certain and more of a gamble when you go. I went at the end of September, and whilst we had rain and heavy cloud, we still got to see Fuego erupt plenty of times and saw an incredible sunrise. The weather changes fast so the chances that you’ll see Fuego on your trip are quite high.
Choosing a tour and price
There are lots of agencies in Antigua selling Acatenango tours and prices can vary greatly, from Q.250-500 and higher sometimes. I personally wouldn’t book this experience with the cheapest agency. It’s tough and cold, so you’d want to make sure the food and gear is good, the camps have views of the volcano (sounds obvious!), and the tents/cabins are decent.
I’d recommend looking at companies selling tours from Q350-500. I’d advise going with a company who run their own tours, rather than an agency who pool their resources and subcontract.
I signed up with two Brits, Aanita and Paddy, from my hostel with CA Travellers. We paid Q325 (got a discount from Q350) for the tour, plus the extra Q50 entrance fee. I was very happy with them and I’d recommend!
Check what’s included (gear, water, meals) and how many people there are per group. It’s a great experience to share. In my group, there were ten of us – a really good number!
Aside from CA Travellers, other companies I’ve heard good things about in Antigua are Wicho’s & Charlie and Tropicana Hostel.
Final thoughts
Hiking Acatenango was an absolutely amazing experience – tough but totally rewarding! I’d 1000% recommend it!
Being the rainy season, there was a chance we’d see nothing. We had to wait a while for the clouds to clear, and when they finally did (thank goodness!), seeing Fuego erupt and shoot lava into the night sky was even more special.
I’m over the moon we got lucky and were able to see it. I can still picture the eruptions and being the only one up late at night watching it!
Guatemala is a wonderful country and Acatenango and Antigua are a definite must do and visit!
I’m now off to Lake Atitlan, the largest lake in Central America!
P.S. I had to visit Hobbitenango, Guatemala’s version of New Zealand’s Hobbiton. Tiny hobbit homes!!
P.P.S. I loved Antigua!! Luna de Miel does incredible nutella and banana crepes! So so much nutella – no complaints from me! Also, the craft brewery, Cerveceria 14, and Coaba farms are good to visit!
