acatenango volcano

Myself and my two brothers completed this hike on our own, no guides, by reserving a shuttle from a tour company that offers the guided tours. We requested a 4:30am departure, it took 45mins to reach the start of the trail, and another 4 hours to reach the summit. The views are spectacular and incomparable!The hike should take close to 5-6hrs but I believe that is because many people are carrying overnight packs. As well, we got lost a couple times on the way up because we did not have a guide, but doing it again I still would go alone. Its strenuous because of the altitude and can be extremely windy. Check weather before attempting, but defiantly attempt it! Good Luck!If you want to go alone, please feel free to contact me and I can help guide you on the turns. Its actually quite easy...

My husband and I hiked Acatenango in a 1-day guided trip through GT Adventures in February 2015. I will comment both on the tour operator and the hike itself.GT Adventures: We were picked up promptly at the pre-arranged time (3am) from our hotel and provided with hiking sticks as well as a packed lunch. It was 1 hour to the trailhead and both the driver and our guide were kind of respectful. We chose this operator because they only charged $60pp for a group of 2 (some of the well-known tour operators will charge up to $150 per person if it is a small group and noboy else signs up). We really appreciated the personal tour and not having to go with a large group, as we were able to go our own pace (we like to hike quickly). My only complaint is that we asked for a bilingual guide (for the sake of my partner who does not speak Spanish) - but the guide we were given could not speak more than a few phrases in English. This turned out okay for us since I am fluent in Spanish - but if you book with GT Adventures, be sure to really insist on an English-speaking guide if you can't converse comfortably in Spanish.The hike: Other reviewers have given excellent descriptions of the hike itself. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding hikes we have ever done! It was absolutely beautiful the entire way - from hiking in the dark under the stars to the sunrise and emerging above the clouds, to the summit push and watching Fuego erupt from the top - absolutely spectacular. It took us 4 hours and 15 minutes for the ascent, 45 minutes at the top, and 2 hours 30 minutes for the descent. According to our guide, this was a pretty fast pace - so take into account it can be up to 8-10 hour long day depending on your pace. We are in shape runners (had just completed a half marathon), but definitely not in shape for hiking at altitude (we live in a very flat sub tropical city at sea level), and found it challenging but manageable.A few tips: -This hike is about a 5K foot ascent - starting at 8K and ending at the 13K summit. Take the altitude seriously, especially if you normally live at sea level like we do! We had a day to acclimatize to Antigua (5K), but we still definitely felt the altitude. Drink a LOT of water both the day before and during the hike and carbo load like you would for a marathon. We also took excedrine migraine to help ward off altitude headache, and took lots of short breaks to catch our breath and allow our heart rates to slow down. (Even a short break of 30-60 seconds was amazingly helpful.) Altitude affects everyone differently and this hike is nothing to worry too much about as long as you take your time and prepare appropriately. -The hike is pretty steep and you pass through difficult terrain, including deep volcanic scree. People have completed it in sandals, tennis shoes, even boat shoes - but you will thank yourself if you bring appropriate gear (we had sturdy hiking boots and didn't experience sliding backwards in the scree as others have mentioned in their reviews).-Other items to bring: handkerchief or buff for the dust (esp in the descent), a hat/sunscreen (if its a sunny day, you will get sunburnt), a good CAMERA!, little snacks (granola bars, banana, chocolate), lots of water (worth the extra weight, we drank evey last drop of the 7 Liters we brought for just 2 people). It could be very windy/cold at the top so bring a puffy or fleece, but you'll work up a sweat on the way up, so a nice wicking baselayer is helpful.Overall - one of the best experiences I've had in Guatemala, but not for the faint of heart! If you are concerned about the challenge, there are other volcano hikes (such as Pacaya) that are both shorter and easier, but that still give you the experience of hiking on a volcano. GT Adventures is a great option for small groups and those on a budget - though some of the more established operators may be more reliable in terms of speaking English, and have reasonable per-person rates if you go with a large group.

Although the hike is not easy (especially towards the end - a lot of scree), it is totally worth it. The view at the top at sunrise is absolutely breathtaking - as are the small eruptions of the Fuego. (Make sure you pack enough water - many of our group members did not)

Acatenango vulcano is a really fascinating trip, most likely unique in the world, as you can watch an active vulcano (named 'Fuego') erupting from 4 km distance. Make sure you book the overnight version. The afternoons are cloudy and cover the sight on Fuego and the surroundings. There's no clouds in the mornings.EquipmentYou will need good hiking shoes and warm clothing, preferably layered (e.g. several pulovers/fleece jackets), sothat you can adjust to the dropping temperature while you go up. There is a slight chance for rain, have rain gear ready. For the night, you need tent and sleeping bag which, together with your clothing, enable you to stand temperatures down to 0 deg Celsius.You also need food and water. I was ok with 3 liters. If youdrink a lot, take more. Don't forget a torch light for the walk to the top in the morning and toilet paper. Most agencies provide equipment and food. If you compare prices, check what's included. See also further down for this.The hike first dayYou will start around 9 am with an about 40 mins drive to the entry, a little village called solitud at about 2200m over sea level.I asked our driver to get some fruit for the way up. He went right through the local market by car (reminded me of the blues brothers on their way through the mall, but it is legal here), he got me a huge bunch of bananas for 5 Q that was enough for my whole group.When you go up the steep parts, you'll slip back on the vulcanic ashes that cover most of the path. Also, the lack of oxygen will make you breath more than under normal conditions. For both, make sure to walk slow. There's enough time. After 3 to 6 hrs, you'll reach a little platform, about 200m of altitude under the top. There's several of them, from different agencies. Ours had (almost) levelled room for the tents, a fireplace and a toilet. No water, but clean and no smell. You'll prepare food on the fire and hear Fuego erupting. The later it is, the less clouds and you'll also see it.The hike second day You'll get up around 4 am. The hike to the top is in complete darkness and very steep in the beginning. We walked fast, two of us gave up and went back to the platform. There was no need for this. Once again, go slow, there's enough time. Hiking time is 1 to 2 hrs.The sunrise sight from the top, together with Fuego still erupting once in a while (less frequency) is really fascinating. I'll remember this for a long time.When the spectacle is over, you'll go back to the platform for breakfast and further down afterwards. The way down is easy, almost no effort.Prices and agenciesI booked with 'New Destiny', 5th Ave Sur #10 since I wanted to go with locals and they're recommended by Inguat (guatemaltecan tourist office). They take 100$, all equipment included, food is extra, around 10$.The biggest, all American agency, is named OX. They take 79$, nothing included. On the platform I was quite happy about the almost new tent from my agency. Two from our group were happy about two free sleeping places im this tent since theirs was incomplete and broken, neither water nor wind proof. They had booked really cheap (700 Q for two persons). Also, I enjoyed good home cooked while others sticked with instant soups. So if you need to book cheap, check everything carefully before you leave. The guides seem to be all locals. If you have everything except guide yourself, cheap booking makes sense.

We booked our overnight hiking/camping trip with GT Adventures. Please note: we discovered after chatting with our group that people had booked with different tour companies, and we were all getting the same trip, for VERY different prices. One person on our trip was paying $40 less than we were . . . so shop around!The hike is difficult, but as the other reviews state, if you have a good level of fitness you will be fine. I would recommend a good pair of hiking shoes/boots as some people on our trip were in sneakers and having a hard time with the terrain. We arrived early enough to set up the tents, relax and have a camp fire before heading to bed. Volcan Fuego next door was pretty active when we were there and was giving us a good show all night. The early morning to finish the climb to the top of Acatenango was worth every step.Overall we were really happy with this trip. It was well organized, the food was good (we asked specifically for vegetarian) and we were offered a cup of wine for around the camp fire. The tent we were in had 5 people, but we were comfortable enough considering the circumstances. The temperature wasn't too cold and there was no wind, but of course the ground can be pretty hard and lumpy. We ended up staying in Antigua longer than planned, just to do this hike and were not disappointed.

My boyfriend and I did the 8 hr Acatenango hike with a local registered tour guide, and it was a great experience. The hike is challenging, but very rewarding with great views. There are couple of other hiking tour agencies in Antigua (O.X. Outdoor Excursions and Old Town Outfitters). But we ended up going with a local tour guide, since the tour agencies were asking for a minimum of four hikers. With a local tour guide, you really do feel the local culture.The local tour guide speaks Spanish only and lives in La Soledad, matter-fact the entrance to the hiking trail is behind his house. Hector Quino picked us up from Antigua at 5 am and invited us to his humble home, where he lives with his six children, for breakfast. (Charges 15 Quetzales per person) After having our breakfast we started climbing up. My boyfriend and I each carried a camelbak with 3L of water, snacks, and lunch. There are several breaks and rests in between, approximately every 20 mins, depending on how fast you want to go. We reached the summit at noon and were done by 4pm. The tour guide took us back to Antigua, and we were in our hotel by 5pm.The only main concern I had was walking on the gravel terrain near the end of the steep slope. Basically, you take one step forward and take a half step backward it's sort of like running on sand. Overall, I would highly recommend the Acatenango volcano hike if you are in Antigua. The local tour guide charged us total of 800 quetzales for the two of us, 400 quetzales for the ride both ways, and 400 quetzales for two hikers (200 quetzales per hiker). 800 quetzales is about $105 dollars. We gave Hector a nice tip for his work. He does the hiking tour about 4-5 times per week, so he knows the volcano very well and is in great shape. Hector is a registered tour guide and a family men - he is very humble so don't worry about any safety concerns. In case if you are interested you can reach out to him at 502-532-75-084

My boyfriend and I did this hike recently with gt adventure (Miguel was our guide - he was great). We were initially going to go with oldtown outfitters but they needed more than 2 otherwise it was going to be $130 each. We paid $70 each for the tour (including transport, guide & lunch - didn't have to pay for anything else on the day). We did the day trip, leaving at 4am. It's about an hour to the start of the trail. It took us about 3.5/4 hours to reach the summit (it's somewhere between 12-15km return) and 2.5 hrs down (cruisy pace).Pretty steep going throughout the hike. We are both above average fitness and found it tough but doable. The guide set a quick pace but backed it up with heaps of short breaks. We got by with runners, running tights and puffer jackets (although think we were lucky that it wasn't windy/raining). View from the top is fantastic. We sat up on the edge of the crater looking at fuego for about 45mins (during which time it was letting out a fair bit of smoke). We didn't feel unwell at all with the altitude, we were maybe just a bit more easily breathless.I don't think you need to go with another company charging more than this price (per person) for 2. The hike isn't technically difficult just a bit steep. Highly recommend gt adventures as our trip went very smoothly and our guide (Miguel) was great.

The hike is long, challenging, excellent exercise and very worth the time and energy. We did the 2-day hike: day 1 approx 5hr hike from starting point to campsite/base camp with adequate rest stops arriving around 4:30pm, then a hiked down and up Fuego for the sunset another 3 hours. day 2: woke at 4am to summit Acatenango. Wonderful views all around. It was very cold and windy at the camp and through the night, be prepared, while we brought appropriate cold weather outdoor gear - several people in our group were sorely under-prepared and suffered. Research different adventure tour groups. We went with GT adventures from Antigua mainly because they were flexible on the start date (left next day), they were overbooked and provided "food, sleeping bag, tent". If you want to go with them, you will carry your own gear and water and food (everything except tents). They provide sandwiches and fruit, no hot food. Suggest bringing your own water and soup packet and your own coffee. Upside - friendly guides, downside - you will not have your own tent and there was insufficient sleeping space/cramped sleeping space, sleeping bag cleanliness was questionable (if you can bring your own) and too thin. We hardly slept with the tent flapping in our face/against us in a cramped tent and it was very cold. Other tours companies may provide porter and different services. We suggest companies pool together to include a clean-up fee for the mountain and have a local guide/horse ensure all trash is packed out - the poor gorgeous Acatenango is becoming a dump at the campsite - this could be easily rectified with a little organization. Suggest maintaining a latrine facility at the campsite. Overall the views and hike were tremendous and would recommend.

It was a long hike, but totally worth it. The view from up there is something out of this world. We could see the Volcan de Fuego erupting. It's a wonderful experience. I'm going to hike more often there. I didn't get enough of this place. Love it!

This was a great trip from Antigua. I gambled and went with a bus outfit that were advertising in the main square. The bus trip was rough and long. We were not warned that an armed security guard was travelling with us; only found out half way through the trip. Anyway, the mountains were a great experience and was one of the highlights of my time in Guatemala.

If they had a small restaurant at the top. Or a cafe. Just kidding. It's a volcano and it's awesome. Go, if you get the chance.

I loved the challenge of the hike, the efficiency of Old Town Outfitters, the views from the rest stops, the eruptions of neighboring El Fuego volcano (VERY active on our trip!) and the staff at Old Town Outfitters.

Recently went on the overnight hike of Acatenango with OX and cannot recommend it highly enough. OX did a great job. From the pre trip briefing where they made sure everyone had appropriate gear and clothing, they didn't miss a thing.I've seen a lot over the years but have never looked eye to eye with an erupting volcano before.The hike alone was fantastic but sitting around a camp fire, hearing the thunderous roar as the volcano spews molten rock into the night sky and then watching it flow down the side of the mountain was probably the most amazing thing I've seen in natural...truly unmissable.As for the guys at OX? Big thanks to our guide Jake. Very knowledgeable and interesting guy. Constantly aware of how everyone was doing and helped out big time with advice about altitude adjustment. Great guy. With a well established camp site, great food, great company, my only regret? That I didn't do the Double Whammy and climb both volcanos.Worth every cent, if you go to Antigua, you'd be crazy not to go with these guys.

I took a 2-day trip to this Volcano and it was a blast! We spent the night close to the top where we could see another Volcano, Fuego, spitting fire and lava every 15 minutes. A real blast! And early in the morning we hit the top to see the sunrise. Very beutiful! You can also "run around the top" to get a free t-shirt but I must warn you. It is only 700 meters but you are 4.000 meter above sea level. Not an easy run! And the hike to the top isn't like a sunday walk in the park so be prepared to sweat!

Nice little hike up a little hill, nothing too stressful, very pretty views when it wasn't covered in clouds. VERY cold and windy, so take warm clothes