I’d been hiking on a lot of volcanos in the past, some semi-active and blowing a little smoke but mostly they lay dormant, so when Sara and I had a chance to hike a fully active volcano and potentially see flowing lava and small eruptions we jumped at the chance to do so.
Volcano Pacaya is located only a short 1 hour and 15-minute drive from Antigua and is one of the most active volcanos in Central America. Despite being so active the eruptions are generally only small and nowhere near as damaging as other eruptions from volcanos like Fuego. We saw red flowing lava and small eruptions but it is also not a guarantee so ask your hotel or hostel about current activity up there.
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We had been staying in Antigua for a few days and had already hiked a few Guatemalan volcanos all of which were incredibly beautiful but our time in Antigua was pretty much done so we decided to head to Pacaya hoping we would see some action.
We left in the afternoon because we had decided to do the hike in the early morning so we would arrive near the peak in the dark and hopefully see the lava fields in action. That night as we neared the volcano we saw the strange weird red-orange glow in the sky and realized that Pacaya was spewing lava already. As we slowed down and watched it roll down the side of the Volcano we got pretty excited for the early morning hike.
If you’re looking for some of the best things to do in Antigua you might want to check them out here.
Having our van with us we were lucky enough to be able to stay in the car park at the start of the hike. I had some friends do it from Antigua though and I will go into their process a little later. We made some snacks and packed our bags and then had an early night. We awoke at 3:45am and after Sara made a quick pot of coffee we were on our way.
Hiking Volcano Pacaya
So hiking Pacaya Volcano was actually the easiest hike we had done since we left Europe and started this trip almost two years ago. When I say hike I don’t mean like a normal hike through a forest I mean a hike up an actual mountain. But yeah it was super chill. I have heard for some that the altitude can be a bit of an issue but if you have already spent a few days around Antigua or Guatemala City then you should be fairly ready for this. The level of difficulty also, of course, depends on your level of fitness but if you can walk for a few hours on flat ground without any issues then you should not have too many problems here.
The hike itself is pretty straight forward and a guide is required so you should not actually end up getting lost no matter what. We didn’t actually know we needed a guide as we arrived in the late afternoon and when we bought our tickets at 4am no one actually said anything to us about it. I wish that they had have though as the guides are cheap and it puts money back into the local economy so be responsible when you do this and take a guide.
The hike starts in lush dense Guatemalan rainforest that is fairly unique, it is also host to a 400 year old tree that we think we saw but can’t be 100% about that because we didn’t have a guide.
Clearing the rainforest section of the hike should take about 45 minutes to an hour and as you step out of the trees if it is still dark and you are lucky enough there should be an amazing stream of lava flowing down Pacaya.
This is what we experienced as we arrived at the first lookout, unfortunately, as we took our backpacks off to get our cameras out clouds pushed in, they pushed in so fast we had no idea what was actually going on so we waited. We waited and hoped that they would clear even if only for 10 seconds, we wanted our lava photos and we were pretty determined that a few clouds were not going to stop us getting them. Well as it turned out they did, it started pouring rain and we ran for cover under one of the last remaining trees before you clear the tree line. Here we stayed for about an hour, luckily we were prepared with appropriate clothing but that still didn’t stop us from getting cold and very wet.
As the time went on the sky started to lighten and the rain still had not stopped so we decided to start hiking again as our chances of seeing a bright red illuminated sky or any kind of remarkable sunrise were pretty much gone. I suppose this is what you get hiking in wet season though. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose. This morning we lost.
The rest of the hike only took about an hour to reach the edge of the crater and the different views and landscapes we saw as the clouds would intermittently part on our way were truly mind-blowing.
The crater itself is also a truly beautiful thing to stand on the edge of and see as there are dozens of cracks and holes shooting steam high into the air, not only this, as we got closer the clouds cleared for about 20 or 30 minutes and this allowed us to see multiple eruptions, they were not massive ones and there was no smoke with them but chunks of lava, some bigger than my torso were being thrown tens of meters into the air above us and landing unsettlingly close to us before eventually rolling downhill and becoming part of the massive solidified lava stream.
We ended up spending a few hours on the edge of the crater taking photos and sitting next to small plumes of hot air coming from the rocks to try and help us warm up and also dry out or jeans which were as wet as if I had just stepped into a lake with them on.
One thing we did not do that I have heard everyone does on the hike is roast marshmallows, we didn’t take them/ don’t eat them haha but it does look like something fun to do. It is probably something the guide hikes up the mountain with for you.
The way down is straight forward and pretty easy but if you have knee or ankle problems you will probably want to buy one of the walking sticks from the kids selling them at the bottom for about 50 cents US. I don’t use them but Sara loves her hiking poles and it really takes a lot of pressure off your knees if you do have any issues there.
We also have a post about hiking Volcan Tajumulco which is Guatemala’s and Central America’s highest volcano/mountain.
A little bit of history.
Pacaya Volcano is active, like super active. It did, however, lay dormant for over a century until in 1965 it violently blew its top. Its last major eruption was in 2010 and it has a habit of erupting every 4-6 years Evidence of this is everywhere especially as you reach the first lookout for the volcano and from there you are walking pretty much exclusively on lava, which is kind of crazy to imagine as you walk on it that at one point in time it was a fluorescent orange-red river of flowing liquid rock.
How much does it cost to Hike Volcano Pacaya?
So this is obviously going to depend on how you do it. But just the entrance fee is 50 Quitzales or about $7 USD per person, so if you do everything yourself that will be the only fee you need to pay. If you are staying in a fancy hotel in Antigua however and take a guided tour from there I can imagine it will cast a lot more than the average backpacker would pay, Sara and myself are mostly on a budget and most of the people we meet along the way and travel with are also on budgets. We had friends in Antigua that booked their Pacaya volcano hike through their hostel and it ended up costing them around $16 USD for transport, guide and park entrance fee which seems like a fairly reasonable price for all of that. This was the best price we heard of. This was a group tour though and it was a pretty big group so if you’re looking for something a little more private you are going to be looking at around $25 to $30 USD per person for transport, guide and entrance fee which is also a fairly decent price.
Best time to visit Pacaya Volcano
So depending on when you are there you are going to be subject to either pretty hot perfect days or a lot of rain. We were there at the end of the rainy season and unfortunately received a lot of rain but the best time to go is November or later as that is when the rainy season ends and dry season begins and lasts until April as I have said we saw the lava flowing in full effect the night before from our van as we drove towards the mountain but in the morning we saw it for literally 10 seconds. We normally try and do our hikes for sunrise as you have a better chance in most parts of the world of having a clear morning as opposed to a clear sunset but here that was not the case for us. So maybe check the weather a few days out if you are there between April and November and try and book the tour for the best weather window.
Where to stay in Antigua
Antigua being the incredibly beautiful town that it is surrounded by multiple volcanos and with the ability to participate in dozens and dozens of different activities there is obviously going to be a lot of places to stay but here are a few of the nicer more budget options.
Apart from the super cute name Maya Papaya was actually pretty cute all over! It was super clean which is always a bonus, it had big outdoor and indoor areas complete with netflix and really good wifi.
If you are looking for more of a party vibe the Tropicana Hostel might be more your vibe. It is super lively, comes with a pool and is located on a lively street with lots of bars and clubs.
So maybe this would have been our choice if we had have done a little more digging before we arrived but Barbara’s Boutique Hostel actually looked amazing! The hostel itself is located in a small old school looking colonial building right in the center of Antigua. This is more the kind of place you go if you want to chill, do you own thing and have somewhere beautiful to come and relax at the end of your day.
Tips on how to hike sustainably.
So this is something I think about every time I go anywhere and it ranges from things as simple as buying a banana and making a sandwich instead of buying plastic wrapped products to buying clothing from companies that support sustainable business practices.
Here are a few little tips to help you hike more sustainably.
If you travel and hike often one of the things I would suggest investing in is a Water bladder. Osprey makes a nice series of them that range from 1.5 litres to 3 litres. I use one of these every hike unless it is below negative 5 then the water tends to freeze. The benefit for me is that as you drink the packaging gets smaller and you end up with more room in your pack for a jacket or something else you might take off later and you never actually have to take your bag off to get a drink, just hang the straw over your shoulder and drink as you see fit.
A reusable water bottle is also something that will cut a crazy amount of plastic waste out of your life. Hydro Flask is one super popular company and they make a massive range of sizes and shapes.
Food, food is almost always wrapped in plastic when you buy it but this has been a surprisingly easy one to get around. It may be a little harder if you are backpacking but we’re travelling in our van so we have a small kitchen. We have started to make everything and package it in reusable containers that we just take on the next hike. Sara has been perfecting making these protein balls that are a mix of oats, peanut butter, cranberries, almonds and whatever else we have lying around. Also fruit! But if you buy fruit do not throw the peel along the track. These things can take forever to break down especially if they are not regional fruits and no one really wants to see someone’s old orange or banana peel lying around on the track.
Clothing is something that is often overlooked as a sustainable product as you just kind of wear things till they are old and then throw them away but there is a range of companies out there these days that are making amazing products built to last. Patagonia is one company I can not push enough. They support so many environmental campaigns, they have a lifetime warranty on everything they sell and they give one percent of all sales back to small grassroots charities. They will also repair any clothes you take into them with minor issues.
