The primary reason that people visit Guatemala is to climb Volcan Acantenango, which overlooks Volcan Fuego (the one you see in the thumbnail).
Acantenango is the main hike that you do, but the appeal is to see Fuego erupting. There are only so many places in the world where you can climb an active volcano erupting.
The basic plan for you should be to arrive in Antigua and stay at a hostel in town, Nick and I initially stayed at Casi Casa and organized a tour with Tropicana, which is a hostel and tour company. Due to high demand we had to wait a few days so we went to Atitlan first to relax and do a pre-hike.
When we came back we both stayed at Tropicana for a night and then left the next morning for our hike. You can rent everything you need with Tropicana: boots, jacket, backpack, etc. Each item is about $10, so do not fret if you don't bring all of the necessary hiking supplies.
The hike is only one night so do not overpack. In total, between rentals and the hike (which includes 3 meals), I spent $130 US. Nick spent closer to $100 because he had a hiking backpack and brought a bigger jacket.
The day of the hike you arrive at Acantenango, you do not need to stay there, and have breakfast, which is nice and filling: fruit, pancakes, cereal, eggs. You pick up gear and leave your stuff at their hostel then jump in the bus for the starting point inside the national park.
It is about a 1 hour ride to the starting point where you can rent poles or hire a porter. The guides explain the hike to you as well.
Our hike took 5 hours and we went at a slow pace. Nick and I could have gone up much quicker on our own. This made the actual hike much easier with a 10 minute break every 30 minutes.
Once we reached the campsite, on the side of Acantenango, we had tea and coffee and a brief snack. Then the guides asked who wanted to go too see Fuego erupt from up close, which Nick and I definitely did.
Depending on the number of people who go, the price will be lower. We got 10 people to go so it was $30 per person for this extension. Unfortunately we got there too late and clouds covered the actual eruptions for 30 solid minutes. It was cold too so we had to leave without seeing it.
The extra hike is two hours each way and after the Acantenango hike, that was tough.
I finally went to bed around midnight after watching Fuego erupt for an hour while sipping some lat enough hot chocolate.
If you want to wake up for the sunrise on top of Acantenango, then you have to get up at 3 AM. This is equally epic and you should definitely do it. Of our group of 40, probably half the group skipped this part, which I think was a huge mistake.
Nick and I made the 2.5 hour climb up to the summit of Acantenango in the complete darkness. This was a blast and seeing the sunrise was amazing.
Later you hike back an hour to camp and grab a quick coffee for breakfast. Then you hike back down to the bus, with only 2-3 breaks, and it takes about two hours.
Once back on the bus everyone shares photos and chats about the experience. We got back to Tropicana, where we had booked another night, and crashed for 3 hours each.
It was an absolutely amazing experience overall and I would not come to Guatemala without doing this hike.
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→Acantenango Hike: • Acantenango and Fuego ...
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6 июл 2024
