The Acatenango Volcano Hike in Guatemala is the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done. I put it above running a marathon, which was once my hardest. This hiking experience almost broke me and temporarily made me feel insane, but if you’ve ever done a physical challenge, you know the terror subsides, and you look back with rose-colored glasses. 😉
This post shares all the details about my experience and information you should know to plan yours!
What is the Acatenango Hike?
Acatenango is a challenging 5,170 ft hike to a 13,055 ft peak, about an hour outside Antigua, Guatemala. It is typically done in 24 hours with an overnight at a basecamp.
One of the main reasons for doing the Acatenango Hike is to see the nearby Fuego Volcano erupting as close as possible. The volcano typically erupts every 20 minutes, and while you can see the mountain from Antigua, an hour away, it’s a whole other experience seeing it from Acatenango’s summit at sunrise.
Here are the quick stats:
- The hike is 1,576 m / 5,170 ft
- The hike starts at 2,400 m / 7,874 ft
- The base camp is near 3,600 m / 11,811 ft
- The hike to base camp takes 4.5 hours, depending on your fitness level. This is from about 9:45 am to 2 pm
- There is an optional hike to Fuego from 4:30 to 7:30 pm the same day (to get closer to the erupting volcano)
- The hike to the Acatenango summit at 3,976 m / 13,044 ft starts around 5 am to see a 6:20 am sunrise. The hike up is about 1.5 hrs, and the hike down is about 30 minutes.
- The final descent is about 2-3 hours, from 8 am – 11 am.
In total, it is about 8-9 hours of hiking (or 13 hours if you do the additional Fuego hike) within 24 hours. There were about 4 official, longer breaks as a group, but you could always stop to the side for a breather. Our tour had front and back guides to ensure our group stayed together.
The terrain and elevation are what make this hike difficult. Parts of the hike are loose gravel, making it hard to get your footing. You’ll be very thankful for hiking poles! Going down is easier and faster but will be hard on your knees.
The dry/high season – November to April – is recommended for clear weather and less/no rain. The rainy/low season is May to October. They don’t cancel because of rain.
Hike Schedule
Here’s a quick rundown of our trip schedule:
- 7 am: Tour shuttle picks us up from Antigua
- 8 am: Arrive at HQ, eat breakfast, pack up final things/get rentals
- 9:30 am: Short drive to the hike start
- 9:45 am: Start Hiking
- 2:15 pm: Arrive at basecamp, eat lunch
- Afternoon: Take a nap, take photos, relax
- 4 pm: Say no to the 2nd hike, haha (hike left at 4:30)
- 4:45 pm: Hot chocolate and cookie snack
- 7 pm: Eat dinner
- 8 pm: Try to go to bed
- 4 am: Wake-up call
- 4:50 am: Start hike
- 6 am: Arrive at the summit
- 6:20 am: Sunrise
- 6:40 am: Hike back to basecamp
- 7:30 am: Back at basecamp, eat breakfast
- 8:15 am: Bye, basecamp! Start hike down
- 10:30 am: Finished the hike!
- 11:15 am: Back at HQ, unpack, snack
- 1 pm: Tour shuttle drops us back in Antigua
I work out three times a week, but hiking steep elevation is a whole other fitness challenge. My legs do not like inclines, and 4.5 hours of consistent inclines was a small torture. Thank goodness I had an audiobook to drone everything out. About one hour in at basecamp, I started getting a headache, and medicine zapped that quickly. Sleep was not very restful because of the cold and unfamiliar place, but it was enough to be ready for the morning hike! The morning hike felt even slower because we were back to steep inclines, and the path was crowded from the different groups. But wow, the views!
Where We Slept
Each tour company has a base camp on the mountain.
We opted for a private cabin, so we enjoyed our 7 ft by 5 ft structure with a door to ourselves. It had a mattress, two fleece blankets, several sleeping bags, and pillows.
Even with all the layers they provided and the ones we brought, I was a tad cold some parts of the night, but overall comfortable when I didn’t have to leave our enclosure!
On the outside, we each had a plastic chair and at the right time, a perfect view of Fuego.
What We Ate
The food provided was better than I expected. I heard rumors about plain pasta for dinner but was very happy we were served more than that. Overall, the food was not gourmet but was nourishing and somewhat satisfying for the short period.
After we were picked up in Antigua at 7 am, we arrived at the headquarters to enjoy breakfast.
We were then issued a food sack to carry on our hike. It included our lunch, utensils, and cups for the trip. Our lunch was hearty, and we enjoyed it when we got to base camp around 2 pm. (They recommend waiting until base camp to eat because hiking after eating could cause altitude sickness.) Lunch consisted of rice with veggies, curry-seasoned chicken, pineapple, an apple, a pack of Oreos, and apple juice.
Around 4:45 pm, they came around with hot chocolate and cookies to help us warm up.
Dinner was served at 7 pm, and it included penne pasta with carrots and red sauce, roasted chicken, and two tortilla chips. There was even wine for anyone interested. They also had s’mores around a campfire, but we were too tired and cold to join in.
We also brought hiking snacks that we ate during stops or along the trail. We packed these for our whole trip, but you can easily stop by a convenience store in Antigua before the hike. We opted for beef sticks and granola bars.
After the morning hike, we were served cereal with granola and warm milk, which we enjoyed while watching Fuego in the distance.
I was never hungry during the 24 hours. Honestly, I was focused on getting through the hike!
What to Pack
While tour companies have rentals, we wanted to be as ready as possible, so we brought most of our gear. The only things we rented were hiking poles (Q25/$3.24 USD each set), which I highly recommend having.
We hiked in late February. During our trip, the overnight low was about 30 degrees F / -1 degrees C, so warm layers were necessary. The hike started around 65 degrees F / 18 degrees C. Most of the hike was warm, and our clothes were sweat-soaked through, which is why an extra set of clothing to change into will be most comfortable when you get to basecamp.
Other essentials I had and recommend:
- Hiking backpack (good support helps; mine was 40L but 30L could work)
- 3-liter water bladder (required as everyone needs to bring their own water)
- Hiking boots
- Toilet paper (required since they don’t supply it)
- Gaiter or bandana x2 (lots of hiking dust)
- Beanie
- Gloves
- An extra set of clothing, including socks – I recommend light, long sleeves and pants for sun protection
- Thermals (for sleeping overnight and maybe the morning hike)
- Sun protection: sunscreen, sunglasses, hat
- Thermal jacket for overnight/morning hike (down or fleece)
- Hiking snacks
- Acetemetophin (for altitude sickness)
- Light rain jacket (good to have a light jacket plus if it were to rain)
- Phone and headphones (have music or an audiobook to keep you going)
- External charger
Other things I didn’t have that might have been nice:
- Compression socks
- Electrolytes (tablets/drink mixes)
- Hand warmers
Our tour company had rentals for everything, from heavy jackets, backpacks, and hiking shoes, so you don’t necessarily need to pack these from home. But items also depend on availability.
Acatenango Tour Options
I liked our tour company, V-Hiking. The team and guides were organized, professional, and encouraging. The food and sleeping arrangements were better than I expected. We were able to store our extra luggage at tour HQ, so we didn’t need to bring extra weight.
There is a range of tour companies by price. Our hike was Q850/$110 USD per person for a private cabin. A shared cabin with 3-4 people was Q600/$78 per person. The extra, 3-hour hike to Fuego is about $26 per person. I suspect some with lower prices have shared accommodations or not as good food. Here are some other companies I considered:
This hike was the worst and best thing. The above photos are a good representation. The photo on the left is when we first got to base camp and felt defeated that we did this terrible hike and everything was covered in clouds. We were worried we wouldn’t get to see anything. The photo on the right was taken a few hours later when it cleared up, and we could see the Fuego Volcano.
Now that I’m done with it and looking back, I’m glad it happened, and the views were incredible. Is it the easiest way to see a volcano erupting? Definitely not. Maybe go to Kilauea in Hawaii. Is it the best place to see above the clouds? Again, go to Hawaii for the Mauna Kea Summit Tour.
It’ll always be part of my memory of visiting Guatemala!
I seek adventure. Here are some posts to read to find your next one!
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