The HARDEST and most REWARDING hike of my life! 

Climbing Antigua’s remarkable Volcán Acatenango, which towers above the landscape at 3,976 m, is at the top of the bucket list for most adventure travelers in Guatemala. Aside from providing panoramic views of the entire region, Acatenango gives hikers a birds-eye-view of nearby (and very active!) Volcán de Fuego which has been erupting almost every 15 minutes since as far back as the 1500s.

If you are visiting Antigua, you have to do this hike to complete your Guatemala trip, the experience is like no others. Imagine you’re watching the eruption of the active Volcán de Fuego from your tent, especially at night, you’ll see the red lava flowing down the mountain. It’s crazy to even think of it when you can get such a view of this phenomenon from close!

Volcán de Fuego, in English its name means Volcano of Fire. Since 2002, it’s eruptions have been vigorous. The volcano has many small eruptions every day, and every couple of years it has a larger, more disruptive eruption.

I have a friend, Alice who lives in Antigua with her adorable son. One of the reason I was visiting Guatemala is because of visiting her, of course I do know there are a lot to see and explore in this part of Central America.

Why Doing this Hike? 

Alice knows that I love hiking and outdoor, the first “things-to-do” in Antigua she recommended me was this Acatenango Volcano Overnight Hike, of course without considering at all and I said: “Yes, I’d love to do that!”.

I have always been active and I have been hiking whenever I travel to South America. I have done Machu Picchu in Peru, Torres Del Paine in Chile and Mount Fitz Roy in Argentina. To be honest, I thought I was quite fit to do the hike. Apparently I was overestimating myself, little did I know this Acatenango Volcano is a giant beast, that it could defeat my confidence. Still, I made it to the summit, it was a real fight, digging every ounce of my inner strength.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

– Confucius

Altitude Sickness?

Alice booked me on this overnight hike after I was acclimatised in Antigua for a few days. This is an extremely important part if you are planning to do some sports in high altitude place, like hiking to Acatenango volcano which is 3,976 meters high. Because if you don’t get acclimatised, you will get altitude sickness with symptoms such as headaches, vomiting, tiredness, trouble sleeping, and dizziness. You do not want this to happen when you are traveling, so prepare yourself and prevent this from happening. Basically, our body needs about two to three days of slowly going higher in order to adjust to the changes, avoid alcohol and drink plenty of water help. There’s also medication you can take prior to your trip.

My Tour Operator

Gilmer Soy Tours is a very reliable tour operator based in Antigua, they provide very good service and they speak English. Most importantly, they have passion in what they do and they take extremely good care of us.

I remember during my first day of hiking to the base camp, one lady in my group was suffering from altitude sickness, she was feeling nauseous and could no longer make it any further, she puked and cried badly. Our guides immediately contacted the office sending another guide to go up the mountain, while one of our guides was carrying her down on his back, so they could meet somewhere in the middle, and passed over the lady so she could go back to Antigua to receive proper care and rest. We are talking about over 3000 meters high at that time, and after sending the lady to his teammate, the guide came back up again, when he arrived at the base camp, it was already way past dinner time, and in complete darkness. That was incredible when we know we are in very good hands, they care a lot about our well beings.

The two amazing guides we had were Elisandro and Wilson who were guiding us all the way to the summit. One of them were leading us, the group of 10 in the front and another one was walking behind the group to make sure we were all safe and they offer help to carry our backpacks for those who’s struggling. It’s a tough job for them but you can see they enjoy what they do, and they are always showing their brightest smiles.

The Overnight Hike Itinerary

Day 1

• Pick up at hotel/hostal in Antigua – 7:30 am
• Meet up point at the volcano base area (San José Calderas community).
• Equipment checks and refreshments (Equipments subject of availability).
• Short introduction for the expedition.
• Start hiking to campsite at 10:00am (several stops for food and water).
• Freshly cooked dinner at campsite.

Day 2

• Start hiking to the summit of Acatenango at 3:00am.
• Sunset watching at the summit.
• Descent to the campsite.
• Breakfast and pack up.
• Descent to meeting point at the volcano base at 8:30am
• Back to hotel/hostal in Antigua – 1:00pm.

Things to Pack for the Hike

Hiking Gear

• Hiking Shoe – you’ll be trekking in the rough environment and thick volcanic ashes, going with the right shoe is important to hike comfortably.
• Backpack with around 60L capacity – you have a lot to pack for the adventure.
• Walking Stick – either you bring your own or they can provide, you’ll need it because walking on volcanic ashes is so much harder that you think, walking stick will give you a lot of support for both ascent and descent.
• Sleeping Bag – bring your own so you’ll sleep better at night after the long hike, you do not want to worry about the hygiene issue.

  Clothing

• Dry Fit Shirts x2
• Pullover – you feel very good to have a clean pullover to sleep, and for the next day.
• Light Weighted Warm Jacket – the temperature is very low up there, they will also provide thick jacket for you during the pre-hike briefing, they will check and make sure we have the right one for keeping ourselves warm.
• Windbreaker – you’ll need it on day 2 at the summit because it can get very windy and wet, this will make a difference.
• Quick Drying Underwear x2
• Mountain Trekking Zip-Off Trousers – you’ll have the choice to detach the lower part of the trousers easily as at some point you’ll sweat a lot and feeling hot.
• Thick Wool Socks x2
• Winter Hat/ Beanie
• Gloves

  Miscellaneous

• 3L of Drinking Water
• Energy Bars, Mixed Trail Nuts & Chocolate
• Headlamp – on day 2 you’ll start hiking at 3:00am, without a headlamp it will be even more difficult to hike as you’ll lose sight of your teammates easily, it can get very foggy.
• Cellphone and Power Bank
• Camera/ GoPro
• Toilet Paper – there’s a toilet at the base camp, but I do recommend you go for your big business in the morning before going for the hike, you’ll feel lighter.
• Wet Wipes – for wiping face and body before sleeping, you’ll sleep better.
• Disposable Toothbrush and Toothpaste 
• Face Moisturizer

Best Time to Hike Acatenango

In Antigua, Guatemala there is a 6 month dry season from November – April, and a 6 month wet season from May – October. However this does not guarantee that you will have great weather in the dry season and bad weather in the wet season!  It is great to do the Acatenango climb all year round but from Nov – Apr you are more likely to have clear views and less likely to get wet. Having said that in the rainy season it usually is clear and sunny in the morning, clouding over at midday and rains for a couple of hours in the afternoon and then clears up again in the evening.

The Hike Overview

The first part of the hike to Acatenango volcano is through local farm fields. This first hour will help you acclimatise and warm up your leg muscles. Further in the ascent, you’ll pass through an old-growth tropical cloud forest with some of the oldest trees of the volcano.

There’re some parts of the ascent that you’ll walk on the volcanic ashes, it’s extremely physical demanding because for every climb you make, you’ll drop a few inches. It is exhausting, at some point when you get too tired and you don’t care about being filthy anymore, you’ll just sit on the black volcanic ashes to rest your legs.

At noon time, you’ll enjoy your lunch break as they will prepare a fresh picnic, we had a grilled herb chicken with steamed rice and vegetables, and an apple as a dessert.

It is an incredible biodiversity of flora and fauna and is home to the famous Quetzal, Guatemala’s national bird. Along the way to the campsite, you will enjoy fantastic views of the other volcanoes like Atitlán and San Pedro.

Once in the campsite, you will be assigned your tent, you get settled and drop all the weights and freshen up yourselves. There is plenty of room to stretch out, dinner will be served after everyone’s ready. The guides will also set up a camp fire for everyone to stay warm. When the night approaches, the hikers gather around the campfire and mingle, while enjoying the the most incredible sights and sounds of nearby Fuego volcano’s eruptions. It is the best show you will see once the lights begin to fade, and it is the best prelude to a fresh camp dinner with hot tea and coffee. This is the most rewarding part of the hike, it is beyond unbelievable!

The sunset from Acatenango volcano’s base camp is one of the most amazing sunsets you will ever see with the red lava spewing out of the volcano next door.

The next morning, you will summit Acatenango’s 3,975 meters peak. This part of the hike is even more challenging than the day before with a 45 minute ascent on sand and gravel scree trail dotted with dwarf pine trees and high alpine mosses. I was really struggling to climb, every single step got sucked into the sand, plus the icy cold wind, freezing temperature and the darkness. All these factors are really trying their best to beat you to the ground. Giving up at this point seems to be the easiest thing to do, but then there’s a voice deep inside was screaming out, “You do not make this far to give up!” Then, I managed to find the strength and I told myself, I will make it to the top with the rest of my teammates. And I did it!!! It’s really mind over matters.

After the steepest trail up to the summit, we are rewarded with an incredible sunrise over Fuego volcano.

After some rest and enjoying the unparalleled 360-degree views of the Guatemalan highlands, you’ll descend back down through a myriad of microclimates and finally return to Antigua.

Mount Fuego Eruption 2018

On Sunday 3rd June 2018, Guatemala’s Fuego Volcano erupted violently and with little warning, sending ash nearly four miles into the air, and burying villages under an avalanche like pyroclastic flow of super heated ash and volcanic gasses.  At least 62 fatalities have been reported thus for, with hundreds more missing and injured.