My personal experience hiking Acatenango and Fuego
The trek up Acatenango and El Fuego was undoubtedly one of the best experiences of my entire life. However, I’ll probably never do it again. If you want a real-life, brutally honest, experience about hiking these two volcanoes, then read on to hear about my personal experience hiking Acatenango and Fuego!
If you’re just looking for tips and things to know before you go, then check out this post: Everything you need to know about hiking Acatenango and Fuego.
There you’ll find information about different tour companies, what to pack, logistical info, and other useful info!
If you’re looking for more resources about planning your trip to Guatemala, don’t hesitate to check out my other posts about Guatemala!
Disclaimer: The following blog post is from my point of view and my own personal experience hiking Acatenango and Fuego. The information and emotions felt are subjective.
How it started - Learning about Acatenango
How do you even find out about such a hike? Up until a week prior to deciding to go, I had never even heard of Acatenango or this crazy opportunity to hike an active volcano.
That was until, I was scouring the internet for destination inspiration. That’s when I saw it, an erupting volcano in Guatemala that you could hike. No more questions, no more searching, I was headed to Guatemala to trek Acatenango and El Fuego.
Getting to Acatenango & Planning the trek
Most people who hike Acatenango end up doing so from Antigua, Guatemala. Antigua is an amazing city it itself, but the possibility to hike Acatenango is definitely the major highlight.
Getting to Antigua from Costa Rica was as simple as catching a flight, then taking an hour shuttle from Guatemala City airport to Antigua city center. For more on Antigua check out my post here: Antigua.
From Antigua you have about a 45-minute ride to the Acatenango trailhead. Seeing as I booked my tour with Tropicana tours (they also have a hostel), we had a different starting point than other groups. Even though the different starting point saved us only about 40 minutes of walking, it was much appreciated in the end.
At the trailhead we were given the option of renting hiking poles. Ego aside, I went ahead and rented two aluminum hiking poles, one of which would end up snapping later on.
Once everyone was prepared, our tour guides explained and mapped out the trek we would be doing that day. Ahead of us, a day of hiking up the volcanic slopes of Acatenango and El Fuego. A mere 3,976 meters (13,044 feet) to conquer!
My own personal experience hiking Acatenango and Fuego
Climbing Acatenango
The Start
At 10 am we started our trek. The beginning of the hike was like others I had done before, slow incline, steady terrain and was far from being the “treacherous” hike I had read about. About 10 minutes in we started crossing paths with people who were on their way down. Their faces were a mix of pride, fatigue, and “let’s just get this over with”. Those very expressions would be on our faces in about 24 hours-time.
My own personal experience hiking Acatenango and Fuego
Still in good spirits and high energy, we arrived at our first stopping point. A cute little restaurant serving crepes and snacks. It seemed to be the main checkpoint where those who were going up and those who were coming down would cross paths and take a break. Seeing everyone who was on their way back down was certainly a reality check.
The beginning of Hell(o)
After about 10 minutes of rest our tour guides motioned for us to continue. That’s when it started. Everything just kept going up and up and up, no more flat portions, no more “this isn’t that hard after all”. From that point on, it was nothing but positive elevation gain.
My own personal experience hiking Acatenango and Fuego
In our group one of the girls ended up having to turn around and go back down, another got elevation sickness and started vomiting. Additionally, another girl ended up having to rent a horse to finish the hike. Plus, many of us got headaches from the quick elevation gain. Yet, somehow, we ended up staying motivated enough to keep on trekking up.
Breaks
Thank goodness about every 30-40 minutes our tour guides would stop and let us take a quick breather. These moments were much needed, but also made things more difficult. Every time we stopped, we would get a chilly reminder of just how cold it actually was outside, and our muscles would start to cool down. Starting up again was often the most difficult part.
About 3 hours in, we stopped for a much needed lunch break. We sat and enjoyed our packed lunches. With Tropicana we had: a delicious burrito, a yummy apple, an amazing chocolate muffin and a juice box that hit the spot. Everything just tastes better when you’re hiking!
Base Camp
After our lunch break, we set off for base camp. This section of the hike was definitely the most difficult. The next 2 hours were nothing but steep switchbacks and loose gravel. It’s impossible to even count the number of times my feet slipped out from under me. I was constantly catching myself with my hiking poles or my knees. It was gruesome.
However, once we reached base camp it was as though my body and my mind had forgotten the past 5 hours of torture. All anybody could do was awe at what was right in front of us: an erupting volcano.
Base camp was set up wonderfully, cabins with sleeping mats, sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets. The best part being that we had cabins to sleep in for the night. So many people would be spending the night in tents, which from what I had heard, would be extremely cold. If you read my blog post: Everything you need to know about hiking Acatenango and Fuego, you’ll learn about the different tour operator options and who offers cabins vs tents!
Outside of our cabins there were benches set up around a campfire and a makeshift kitchen.
This was home for the next few hours.
El Fuego
Difficult Decisions
When I reached base camp, I told myself that there was no way in hell I was going to be able to hike Fuego too. I had just hiked for 5 hours up a volcano, my head was pounding from the elevation, I had the urge to vomit, I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything, and my body had already given its’ all. I had decided that I was going to enjoy the view of El Fuego from base camp, with a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows. That would suffice.
I had about 30 minutes to take a breath, make that last call decision to hike El Fuego or not. With my -iffy stomach, pounding head and sore body – for some reason, at the very last minute, I grabbed my pack and joined the El Fuego hiking group. Sitting at base camp while watching others hike Fuego would not suffice, I had to get up there as well!
The V
I call it a V because that is what hiking El Fuego from base camp looks like. You go down, then you go up. Then, you do it in reverse to get back to base camp.
After about 5 minutes I already regretted my decision to hike Fuego. Unfortunately, my ego, desire to see lava, and not wanting to have spent 200Q (about $25) on nothing, didn’t let me turn around.
It’s not an exaggeration when I say that every 2 steps my feet slid out from under me. Leaving me either on my butt, or crouching down and ‘skiing’ without any actual skis. Trying to catch my balance and stabilize myself with my hiking poles resulted in one of them actually snapping in half. My ‘this is an adventure’ laughter quickly turned into “what the actual f$*% am I doing here”, nervous laughter.
With a steep ledge to one side of me, a slippery gravel trail, and inadequate footwear. I didn’t know how I was going to make it to the bottom, let alone the top. Two other people were trailing at the back of the group with me; a guide making sure I don’t die, and another person from our hiking group who was relying on me for my headlamp (and occasional saving my life by grabbing my bag when I started falling over). Shoutout to Sam, who I probably owe my life to!
That’s when the tour guide, realizing that he shouldn’t have let me do Fuego with my shoes, told me we were trading shoes. You read that correctly. He sat me down and told me I was going to wear his shoes, and he was going to wear mine. Evidently I protested, yet he continued to insist. To be fair, before leaving I specifically asked him if my shoes would be adequate, and he told me they would!
Equipped with my guides’ shoes, we continued down the first slope, catching glimpses of Fuego whenever I had a second to spare.
Once we were at the bottom of the V, we now had the steep slope of Fuego to conquer. I’ll keep it short; it was intense.
Lava-engers
Almost 2 hours later we were front and center to one of the most amazing spectacles on earth, an erupting Volcano. This time, my body didn’t instantaneously forget the torture it just endured. My legs crumbled under me, I dropped down on my knees, and I used my last bit of energy to refrain from completely collapsing.
After catching my breath and gathering my spirits, I settled into a sitting position where I would spend the next 30 minutes admiring the constant eruption of El Fuego. Fuego did not disappoint, nor did it not stop. One big boom after another, hot rocks and lava continued to spew from the crater that was about 300 meters from where we were all resting. I was able to capture some great shots and videos of the eruption on my camera.
After admiring El Fuego, our tour-guide declared that the “Lava-vengers” had to turn around and head back. It was time to do the V in reverse. Oh dear.
The V: Round 2
With nothing but my headlamp and a full blood moon to light our path, my hiking buddy and I started the descent of Fuego. Almost instantly I got fed up and just wanted it to be over with. With my feet sliding out from under me, landing on my butt, having to pray that my hiking buddy would catch my bag when I started to fall forward… I was over with the whole hiking thing for today.
Exhausted, we finally had a stopping point at the bottom of the V. Our tour guide whipped out a bag of marshmallows and some wine. With my head pounding, I skipped the wine but gladly indulged in a few marshmallows to get my sugar levels up.
After about 10 minutes of break, it was time to attack the last challenge of the day: get back to base camp. Not an easy feat.
With ash falling from the sky, looking like snow on our coats, we had to keep our eyes down and mouths closed. Occasionally, between gasps of air, some ash would make it into my mouth, leaving me with a crunching sensation between my teeth. It was unpleasant.
Trailing behind the others, I slowly made my way up the slope, lighting up the path for my hiking buddy along the way. By this time my body had nothing left to give, it was overworked and screaming at me to stop. My head was pounding, my stomach was angry, and my muscles were buckling. I plopped down and started crying from fatigue and frustration. I was soooo over this. The tour guide insisted that I needed to eat more sugar, so he started shoving marshmallows in my mouth and forcing me to drink more water. Looking back, it was definitely as pathetic as it sounds!
I gathered myself and finally made the last B-line towards base camp. Almost 5 hours after having set off for El Fuego, I was rolling over the ledge back at base camp. Without even realizing it, I started bawling. Not a cute cry, but an ugly cry of exhaustion and pride. While completely out of shape, I had just hiked 2 volcanoes in one day and despite the fatigue I was proud of myself for doing it. It was finally (almost) over.
Winding down
After inhaling my plate of pasta and changing out of my sweaty clothes, I crawled into my bunk. I fell asleep for about 30 minutes before being woken up by the cold. Despite my layers, sleeping bag and extra blanket, it was still absolutely freezing. I spent the next couple of hours tossing and turning, trying to keep warm and find a comfortable position. Spoiler alert, there was no comfortable position to be found and I got about 2 hours of sleep that night.
What goes up, must come...down
At 4 am the sunrise hikers got out of bed and made their way towards the Acatenago summit to watch the sunset. It was a hard decision, but I skipped out on this extra excursion and stayed in my bunk.
When they got back from their uneventful sunrise hike (due to cloud cover), we were served a bowl of oatmeal and banana bread before setting out on our descent. The photo below is what the view looks like on a clear day!
As we all know, what goes up, must come down. There was no zip-line, no cable car, no magic elevator, to take us down. Just our tired feet.
After about 3 hours of sliding and slipping, we made it to that first checkpoint where they were making crepes. I got myself a celebratory crepe and sat in the sun to enjoy it. Only 20 minutes to go and we’d be back in the shuttle headed to Antigua, where I’d finally get a shower.
Fin
Thanks to some miracle, my body got a burst of energy for the last 20 minutes of the hike. Knowing that the end was near probably activated some hormone in my brain and motivated my body to push on.
When we crawled into the shuttle there was laughter of relief before silence fell and most of us started napping.
We did it.
Though it was definitely one of the top experiences of my entire life, I would never do it again. Was it worth it though, hell yes.
Dangerous?
Apparently, the eruptions we witnessed were pretty special. So special that they were deemed dangerous and multiple tour groups ended up making the trek down Acatenango in the middle of the night. The Guatemala City airport shut down for a few hours, some roads were closed, and the El Fuego hike was shut down as well for the week to come. We got lucky, we played with fire, and we didn’t get burned.