Volcano Hike

Pacaya is an active volcano that can be easily hiked in a couple of hours. It's a great half a day excursion if you are staying in Antigua. Booking a tour is easy and tour operators will come by minibus to pick you up at your hotel and take you to the starting point. From the ticket office, you pay the fee and buy any drinks or snacks for the hike up. Local kids around the office will try to sell you a horse ride up, which they amusingly called “taxi”.

They will also try and rent you walking sticks. I learnt from my Inca trail hike that I did not find walking sticks that useful. Unless they are used to ward off wild monkeys like on Emei Shan in China. The hike takes you through some dense forest and starts off quite steep at the beginning. The terrain is uneven with gravel, ash and dirt. Ascending further up, the trees would break to reveal the landscape around you. In the distance you could see the three volcanoes of Volcan de Agua, Volcan Fuego and Volcan Acatenango.

We arrived at the summit, which was not the actual submit of the volcano. Hikers are not allowed to go to the tip because of the active nature of the volcano. Instead you arrive at the bottom of the cone, where the lava would flow down and cool. We did not see any live lava or hear volcano rumblings while we were there.

Guatemala's President declared a state of "calamity" in two provinces when Pacaya volcano erupted on 28^th May 2010. The explosions sent volcanic ash down to Guatemala City and the international airport, La Aurora.

Since we arrived at sunset, we could not go down to the lava crater for safety reasons due to the poor light. But we were treated to a magnificent sunset and panoramic view of the surrounding landscape. The cloud formations were spectacular to see and photograph.

I enjoyed the hike and was a good day trip from Antigua. It's an easy hike up, but you also have the option of a horse, if you are not keen to hike all the way. Hiking boots would be of benefit but not essential. Remember to bring water with you and dress in layers. When you are at the summit, you will be exposed to the weather. So if it is raining or windy, you will need extra clothing.

If you plan to hike the volcano towards the end of the day as I did, bring a torch. On the way down, there are no lights and the tour guide had one light for a group of 25 people. Luckly, I had packed a head torch with me and so I was lighting the way for a lot of people on the way down.