Hiking an active volcano

Antigua Guatemala – December 2018

After an exciting Christmas celebration in Antigua Guatemala, I finally get to tick off another item on my bucket list on Christmas Day. Quite tired, I walk down the empty streets of the ancient capital which were filled with people, laughter and fireworks just a few hours ago. The mighty volcano called “Agua” is only partially visible through the fog hovering above the city on this cold winter morning. The sun hasn’t risen yet when I arrive at the tour office. My fellow hikers – a couple from New York – is already involved in a discussion with our guide for today.

I‘m very grateful for the US couple having booked this hiking tour last minute like me. The agency (like most of this kind) needed at least 3 people to participate, so all of us were lucky. However, they are clearly city people and I predict that they will not have an easy time hiking in jeans and Nike running shoes. The guide seems to think the same as he asks them twice if they have any other sports gear. But they don‘t, so we hop into the minibus and head towards the small village at the foot of Mount Pacaya.

At the entrance to the national park, we write down our contact information and passport numbers before embarking on the uphill journey. As we pass some horses waiting to be rented to make the climb easier, our guide jokingly asks us if we want to walk or ride. Of course, we don‘t really have an option, and so we continue to hike. The trail is wide, not very steep at this point but sandy. Every now and then we stop and the guide gives us some information about the volcano.

Pacaya is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and with a height of only 2500 meters, it’s a relatively easy 2-hour hike to the uppermost viewpoint. Due to the volcanic soil, the land is very fertile and privately owned by the farmers who grow vegetables and fruits here. However, farming at the foot of such an active volcano obviously comes with a risk of losing all livelihood if there were a bigger eruption. Apparently, this does not scare them off – or the economic pressure is too high to consider a complete change of living.

As we gain altitude, the inclination grows and so does the amount of sand covering the trail. Even though my trekking shoes come with a good profile, with every step forward, I slide right back down to where I was before. My friends with the running shoes are obviously struggling even more. When we reach the top of a small hill, the three of us are just happy to be able to take a break. So we don‘t even notice the rising smoke and a small lava flow on the summit next to us. While I did read that there is a good chance of seeing lava here, I thought it‘s more of a marketing thing to sell the tours.

Very impressed, we immediately recover and follow the guide to the next hill. That one is really quite hard to climb, as it‘s steep and completely covered in thin, black sand. But again, once we reach its summit, all struggles are immediately forgotten when we marvel at the incredible scenery which opens up in front of us. From the small crater we‘re standing on (an extinct one of course) we can see all three of the MAJOR volcanoes in the area: Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. We take in the view (which is as always a great excuse for a well-deserved rest) and are completely in awe.

This is the final destination of our hike, so we make our way back down – now taking advantage of the soft sand and jumping down the hills we struggled to climb before. In no time we‘re back with the horses and sign out at the entrance to the national park. Our driver is already (or still?) waiting in the minibus and safely brings us back to Antigua Guatemala.

Ever since this trip, I’ve taken any chance I could get to conquer more volcanoes. Stories about hiking in Chile and Italy are coming soon and in the meantime why don’t you check out the post about skiing with a view of Mt. Yotei in northern Japan?