Travel: Hiking through Guatemala's active volcanoes

Mint

6 days ago

Volcanoes spell danger for some, adventure for others. But for the people of the Central American nation of Guatemala, volcanoes are a part of life. Sitting south of Mexico, Guatemala is home to mountains, thick tropical forests and 37 volcanoes, of which three—Del Fuego, Pacaya and Santa Maria—are active. While there are impressive Mayan ruins (Tikal), beautiful lakes (Atitlan and Peten Itza) and hikes, one of Guatemala's biggest attractions is getting up close and personal with active volcanoes. That's what drew me to Antigua. And, as I found out, I wasn't the only one who had this adventurous idea last Christmas when I tried booking a hike up the Acatenango and Del Fuego volcanoes.
Antigua, a Unesco World Heritage city since 1979, has a dreamy old town with cobbled streets and old churches. Decommissioned American school buses re-purposed as public transport share the streets and roads with cars, Ubers, Indian-made autorickshaws and Bajaj, Hero and Royal Enfield motorcycles.
Surrounded by three volcanoes—the dormant Agua and Acatenango and the active Del Fuego—Antigua is the perfect starting point for anyone craving a volcano adventure or even a relaxed time in the spas, saunas (temazcal), bars and farm-to-table restaurants.
There is a surfeit of tour operators offering hikes up the Acatenango and Del Fuego so it is prudent to either talk to people who have just returned from the hike or do your research. Wicho & Charlie's and OX Expeditions are among the most popular agencies but they are also the most expensive. Tropicana Hostel is at the lower end of the price spectrum. Almost all these agencies accept bookings online and list their prices in US dollars. The hike is popular and the good agencies have no availability at short notice. I went with Lava Trails after paying a $21 advance online and received an email confirmation with details of what to expect, what to carry and a pick-up time from the hotel.
Time in Guatemala, much like in India, is a fluid concept—more indicatory than concrete. I was ready for the 8am pick-up at 7.45am. By 8.15am I was wondering if I had been scammed, and by 8.30am I was seriously fretting. Five minutes later, a bus pulled up, my name was called, a list was ticked, and I was headed to the hiking base at La Soledad an hour away. Here, we ate a hot breakfast of eggs, beans, bread, fruits and coffee and were also asked to rent any gear that we needed. We chose from fleece and woollen pullovers, warm jackets, rain jackets, warm hats, gloves, headlamps, hiking poles, even backpacks. Then they gave us 4 litres of drinking water each and three boxes with the meals that we were to eat during our hike. Thereafter, three guides briefed us and then the bus dropped us off at the trailhead around 10.30am.
The hike is divided into four phases. The first part to the base camp stretches roughly 7km. The second phase, which is optional, is from the base camp to the active volcano Del Fuego, the third one is to the rim of the dormant Acatenango volcano and the final hike is the descent back to the trailhead to take a bus back to Antigua. The toughest part of the hike comes right at the start as the trail climbs steeply and the loose gravel makes the ascent difficult. Add to the fact that you are still acclimatising to the altitude of 2,300 metres, where the trail begins. We took breaks after every 20 minutes till we stopped for lunch 90 minutes into the hike. Another hour of hiking brought us the first sight of Agua, its conical snout peeping through the clouds. This is also the furthest a car can go on the Acatenango trail.
From here on, the trail is straightforward and the scenery changes. We left the tropical forests behind and entered the high-altitude alpine forest. Despite a constant climb, this last leg to the base camp is easy and before we knew it, we could see Del Fuego, which erupted with a bang just as we reached our cabin, spewing a large mushroom cloud of dark grey smoke, left the wooden cabin rattling and sent loose volcanic sand around our base camp rippling down. It had taken us about four-and-a-half hours, including breaks, to reach the base camp which was at an altitude of 3,629m.
Around 4.30pm, three from the group went on the add-on hike to Del Fuego while the rest, me included, took a 10-minute walk to the sunset point. As the skies turned an orange tinting to a deeper red on the horizon, up above us it was deep purple and dark blue with stars twinkling at us. We got back from the sunset point by 6.30pm and the guides cooked and served us hot dinner by 8pm. While we were chatting around a campfire, the adventurous three, tired but beaming, returned from Del Fuego closer to 9pm after having witnessed eruptions from a few hundred metres away, even as the mountain beneath their feet trembled. We ended the night under a moonlit, starry sky with hot chocolate, wine and marshmallows around the bonfire, listening to stories and watching Del Fuego erupt nearly every 40 minutes. The best pictures and videos pale compared to watching a majestic volcano erupt in real life with your own eyes.
Sleeping at altitude without acclimatisation is not easy; it was also difficult to sleep because the volcano kept erupting through the night, sometimes twice in one hour. So, some decided to skip the early morning hike while the rest of us filed out of our cosy rooms into the cold, dark early morning sky at 4am, finally leaving the camp half an hour later.
We had to make it to the top of the Acatenango rim in time for the sunrise. This involved a 2km climb, which took all of two hours. This was a challenging hike because we had to walk through volcanic sand in which we kept sinking in shin deep. We took four steps forward, and would slide back one. Add to that hundreds of people hiking the same trail. Some were also suffering from altitude sickness.
It took us just over an hour to get to the top and it was still dark. It is very cold and windy on top and despite wearing all four layers, a warm hat and gloves, many were cold.
About 15 minutes later as we sat shivering at about 4,000m, staring at the horizon, the sky slowly lit up revealing a thick cloud cover behind which a faint orange sphere was visible. It wasn't the glorious sunrise we had been hoping for, but just as we were leaving, the clouds parted to finally let the sun work its magic. The show over, we descended to the camp through a different route.
At the camp, we had coffee and breakfast before starting the hike back to civilisation around 8.45am. Once everyone reached the trailhead, a minibus took us back to the headquarters where we were served a local snack and beer. An hour later, off we went to Antigua dreaming about the out-of-this world phenomenon that we had witnessed the previous evening. Only, it was real, very real.
How to Reach There
Nearest airport
Guatemala City. It is also the country's largest airport. There are no direct flights from India but it is well connected from the US and Europe.
Visa
Indian passport holders need a visa for Guatemala. However, if you have a valid US visa, you are allowed to enter Guatemala.
Currency
1 Quetzales is about ₹10.60. Average price of coffee is Quetzales 20.
Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and the co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.