Guatemala - Volcanoes

Acatenango

During our Guatemalan trip, we were supposed to visit only one volcano. However, a last minute decision brought us to the climb the challenging Acatenango. Most agencies recommended to do it over 2 days, but we only had one spare day... After a few google search we found a small agency (which double-up as a Chinese restaurant) that was offering it overnight : Perfect !!

Starting at 9pm, the total trip took approximately 12h, including 4h to 5h of ascension. We started with our guide at an elevation of 1400m (4600 ft) and finished at 3900m (13000 ft). The last 500m were harder to climb as fatigue, cold winds and sliding ground increased in difficulty toward the top.

The view was well worth it though; We were at the top in time to observe the fury of the very active Fuego volcano, preceding an incredible sunrise scenery! Day light revealed even more volcanoes, the closest one being the dormant Agua.

Pacaya

Pacaya was much easier to climb than Acatenango, but was still very interesting! It is fairly accessible, as it is even possible to do the ascension horseback riding (however the horse poop and the multiple offerings to hire a horse were slightly annoying...)

The guide brought some marshmallows and cooked them over warm volcanic ashes near the submit. At that spot, Max enjoyed a welcomed, but short, opportunity to fly his beloved drone. The wind was pretty strong, but it was interesting to get a view the surroundings and the volcano's active submit !

These 4 hours duration tours are offered twice a day. We took the afternoon one and were very happy about that decision, since we could enjoy a beautiful sunset.