A Guide to Hiking Volcano Acatenango, Guatemala
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I don’t think climbing up a volcano to see another volcano erupt was ever on my bucket list before, but I now firmly believe hiking Acatenango in Guatemala should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Acatenango at its highest peak is 3976m above sea level and from the top, you’ll have views over the city of Antigua and its other volcanoes Agua and the infamous Fuego. Now the very active Volcano Fuego is the reason most people chose to hike Acatenango, when we climbed up in January 2023 Fuego was erupting 3 to 4 times an hour.
The overnight hiking trip up Volcano Acatenango is the talk of the backpacker scene in Guatemala. Have you done it? Will you do it? Was it a difficult hike? Is it safe? All questions I asked many backpackers during our 7 weeks in Guatemala.
So after completing this hike myself I thought it may be useful to put this guide together for backpackers like me who had a million questions about climbing a volcano.
When is the Best Time to Visit?
The ideal time to do this hike would be within Guatemala’s dry season which is from November to April. And honestly, I’m not sure I would have been able to do this hike in the pouring rain, it would have been miserable, horrendously slippy and you wouldn’t be able to experience the incredible views.
Which Tour Company to Choose?
We went with Soy Tours, mainly because a lot of people had highly recommended them to us and they didn’t disappoint. We paid 450Q each, which included:
Park entrance fee
3 meals (lunch, dinner on day 1 and breakfast on day 2)
Tent in a shelter, sleeping bag, air mattress and pillow. See the photo above.
Transportation to and from our accommodation in Antigua
Warm clothes to rent at no extra cost (jacket, scarf, gloves, hat and trousers)
Fantastic guides, who are trained in mountain rescue
Beers after completing the hike
I highly recommend Soy Tours I felt safe and the whole thing was running like a well-oiled machine. There was no pressure to keep up a certain pace, the guides were there to help you when you needed it and there were plenty of breaks. Another bonus about going with Soy Tours is that their camp is based on the side so you can see a gorgeous sunset right from camp, with other companies it’s an extra hike to watch the sunset.
Another tour company we heard good things about was Wicho and Charlies. This was a little bit more pricey but you stay in cabins instead of tents.
How Difficult is the Volcano Acatenango Hike?
It’s definitely no walk in the park I will say that, but it’s achievable for all. We constantly heard about how difficult the hike was and how it was the hardest thing the people had ever done in their life. I don’t know if it was because I had such expectations of this hike being extremely difficult, but I found climbing up on day 1 the easy part descending the volcano on day 2 was not so simple for me.
It’s worth remembering you will be walking at a high altitude so this may affect some people, Josh and I didn’t struggle too much from the altitude however we had been at a reasonably high altitude in Xela, Lake Atitlan and Antigua for 4 weeks prior.
I just told myself that everybody says how difficult it is, but I haven’t met anyone who started it and didn’t make it to the top.
Is The Volcano Acatenango Hike Safe?
The last time Acatenango erupted was in 1972 and is considered a dormant volcano, Fuego, however, is extremely active but the last serious eruption where lives were lost was in 2018.
Look, you’re climbing up a volcano in order to see the active volcano next to it erupt and that will come with a risk. But it’s not an off-the-beaten-track thing to do as many tourists do the same thing every single day without serious injury. Just make sure to book the hike with an experienced tour company.
The risk of the actual hike itself is minimal as long as you follow the advice of your guide and don’t stray off the path. The trails get pretty steep with some serious drops on the side of the path, so be aware of your surrounding at all times.
Diary of Hiking Volcano Acatenango
At this point, you may be wondering what you actually get up to whilst hiking Acatenango and I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve talked about nearly everything but the actual hike itself.
Day 1
We got picked up from our accommodation in Antigua and drove about 2 hours to the Soy Tours office where we had a briefing about the hike and got given warm clothes and our lunch. We set off just after 10ish and the first bit of the hike was through sandy farmland before we got to the official entrance. From the official entrance, you start walking through the cloud forest which was my favourite part of the walk and was also where we stopped for lunch. Lunch was chicken and rice with banana, wafer and a juice box.
Time to get back to the climb and about 2 hours after our lunch stop we were surprised when the guides told us we were only 15 minutes away from camp, this last 15 minutes were was a flat walk around the side of the volcano. We arrived at base camp at about 3:30 which was a lot earlier than we were expecting, in total with regular 15-minute breaks it took us 5 and a half hours from the start to camp.
We were assigned our tents, which were all protected from the wind inside a cabin, they were cosy-ish tents but we weren’t really here to get a great night's sleep anyway. We then headed straight out to the back of the camp where there was a fire and a great view of Fuego.
We spent the late afternoon and early evening talking to others and watching Fuego send plumes of ash into the sky every 15 or so minutes. Around 5ish the group that was doing the extra Fuego hike set off, we opted not to do this as we didn’t want to push ourselves too much and had heard it wasn’t necessarily worth it.
I was not expecting such a gorgeous sunset, as the time came for the sun to go to sleep for the evening, the clouds started to look like giant fluffy marshmallows with a sky glowing a rainbow of colours. A sunset above the clouds was something to remember that's for sure. By now though it was getting rather cold and I had put on every one of my 8 layers and was still hovering by the fire for warmth.
Once the dusk had turned into full darkness we were given dinner which was noodles, beans, mashed potato and a tortilla. This is when we saw lava shoot up and out of Fuego and create a gorgeous orange lava river down the side of the volcano, it was truly a sight to behold. We all crowded around watching eruption after an eruption and we even got given hot chocolate and marshmallows to watch the show with.
It was so very cold that I decided to call it a night just before 9 and wanted to hide in the sleeping bag for warmth, I’d never slept in gloves, hat, coat and scarf until that night.
Day 2
We had a ridiculously early wake-up call around 4:30 in the morning and honestly I wish I had just ignored it and stayed in bed. At about 5 the guides gathered everyone together before heading up to the summit for sunrise, it was a steep hike and more of a scramble than an actual walk. I was freezing, half asleep and just generally wasn’t bothered about seeing a sunrise at all. And when we did make it to the summit an hour a bit later, the clouds covered the majority of the sun anyway, it had nothing on the previous day's sunset.
After grumbling and moaning my way back to camp, I got straight back into my tent and hid away from the world. I think at this point I was becoming rather tired and hangry. I ironically missed breakfast which I believe was pancakes, but by 8 they were calling us to get ready to start the descent. Now maybe I was naive believing going down would be the easiest part but I was an absolute disaster trying to get down this volcano, I was essentially bambi on ice for the next 3 hours.
I slipped at every opportunity giving everyone around me a fantastic laugh, but as well as a bruised ego, I ended up with many actual bruises. I don’t know if it was caused by my shoes not having the best grip, my weak knees or my lack of balance but no one was stacking it as much as I.
When I finally saw the Soy Tours office I was so happy to be back on flat ground and could not wait for a shower and a Maccies. We gave all the stuff we borrowed back and whilst we were waiting for the shuttle to come to take us back to Antigua we got free celebratory beers. We got back to our Airbnb in Antigua around 1ish and just so you're prepared don't plan anything wild for the next few days, we were limping around for quite some time after the hike.
Essentials for Volcano Acatenango Hike
Many layers like a lot of them. You start the hike and you’ll get pretty sweaty pretty fast but it gets super cold overnight and first thing in the morning so without a doubt, the best thing is some good layers. See the above photo of me looking super stylish in all my layers first thing in the morning.
Water is not provided or at least it wasn’t with Soy Tours so Josh and I took 3 litres each. Which was a little more than I needed but given the physicality and altitude I didn’t want to be thirsty, so I would recommend also taking 3L per person.
A headlamp is so crucial, especially if you will be doing the sunrise hike, you need both of your hands to climb up so using a phone torch ain’t going to cut it. Also when you're eating your dinner at camp this comes in super useful.
Bring snacks, more snacks and then a few extra snacks. Your hiking and not sleeping a lot, your body needs fuel. So scrap your diet and buy sugary snacks to keep you climbing the volcano. As a fussy eater, I’m always ready with snacks, my personal favourite being the classic Pringle wrap.
Hiking shoes or shoes with good grip would be ideal for this hike. I say this because I did this in my new balance trainers which had little grip and coming down the volcano was a total shit show. It is doable in standard trainers but if you have hiking shoes it would be a lot easier.
Top Tips for Volcano Acatenango Hike
My number one piece of advice would be don’t rush the climb for two reasons. One is the altitude, it’s better to take often breaks when your body is telling you. There is no need to rush to the top, you don’t get a prize for being first. And number 2 you need to take in the views on the way up, you’re climbing a volcano and for most people, this isn’t a thing you do every day. So appreciate your surroundings.
You’ll have the opportunity to buy a stick at the beginning of the trail, I 100% recommend this unless you are used to walking up and down extremely steep terrain. This hike would have been so much more difficult had I not opted for this, obviously if you have your own walking poles, even better just bring them.
The extra hike to get closer to Volcano Fuego is seriously intense and really should only be attempted by serious hikers. In our group, about 6 people turned around from the Fuego hike because it was too difficult or the terrain felt too unsafe for them.
If you don’t want to carry your overnight bag you can get it portered up.
It is possible to experience altitude sickness on this hike. For this reason, it's recommended you stay in Antigua for at least a couple of nights to acclimatise to being above sea level.
Final Thoughts About the Acatenango Hike
For me this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I can’t see myself hiking this close to such an active volcano ever again. Don’t get me wrong this hike is no walk in the park but it is achievable for everyone. As our guide said truly it’s all about mindset, so you just have to believe you can get to the top, that's the biggest hurdle.
So pack your layers and many snacks and get ready to be amazed by the views by day and the lava shows by night. I don’t know how I’ll ever forget that insanely starry night watching lava shoot into the sky right in front of my eyes.
If you have hiked Volcano Acatenango before leave your top tips or any anecdotes in the comments below. And if you still have questions about hiking Acatenango, I’m happy to answer any questions.
Looking for more Guatemala blog posts?
Antigua, Guatemala Travel Guide
