Climb an active volcano

Antigua is surrounded by picturesque volcanos and hiking to the top of Volcano Pacaya is a popular excursion for families looking for adventure with a view.

The first thing you will notice as you approach Antigua is the breathtaking landscape. Surrounded by lush green volcanos, this beautiful colonial city features a backdrop that makes any selfie spectacular.

Volcan de Fuego, one of the volcanos just west of the city is very active resulting in ash clouds being expelled from the crater every 20-30 minutes. Although this low level activity relieves any built up pressure, Fuego has had major eruptions in 2018, 2021 and 2022. This means that access to Fuego is restricted for safety reasons. Instead, most local tour companies and agents run tours to nearby Volcano Pacaya, which features a smouldering crater and recent lava flows still warm enough to roast marshmallows on.

GETTING THERE

There are travel agents throughout the city who will organize a hike to Pacaya for your family. Prices are based on a shuttle picking you up from your hotel or homestay but some agencies offer a private driver for an additional fee. Tours leave Antigua at 6am and 2pm. We were picked up from outside of our hotel just after 6am. A fleet of shuttles drive around the city picking up clients and once everyone is accounted for the shuttles congregate outside a small cafe, where the various groups are organized into shuttles to maximize efficiency and ensure there were no partially full shuttles doing the same drive. This allows you enough time to grab a coffee and pastry before departing.

The drive itself is breathtaking and takes just about an hour and a half. When you arrive at the park entrance, you will be met by guides assigned to your group. (In addition to the official guides, your arriving bus will be met by a flurry of local boys renting hiking sticks for Q10. This is a nice way to support the locals if you’re so inclined.) Once you have paid the park entrance fee (Q100/US$16) you will get an overview of the timing and begin your hike.

The Ascent

Pacaya is a medium difficulty hike. It is not very technical, starting out steep but steady. The altitude makes it a little tough on your lungs (less so if you’ve had a few days to acclimatize). Our girls, who were 8 and 10 at the time did it without any issue. The ascent is a 2.8km hike, and including walking around a little at the top, the total distance is just over 7km, start to finish. There are locals along the trail who will offer you a ride on horseback starting at Q200/US$32. We heard a few people on our hike negotiate down to less than half the starting price as we got closer to the summit. If you don’t think you’ll make it the whole way up, you may as well negotiate a price early on and get the best bang for your buck. There’s no sense walking 90% of the route and paying a premium for the last few minutes.

Once you reach the top you will have time to take some photos, catch your breath and take in the view. For the sake of safety, the trail ends at the base of the crater where the lava flows stop. Your guide will walk you along and over the cooler flows to an area where the lava is still warm. Roasting marshmallows was a real highlight for our girls. Honestly, the lava flows were not all that hot when were were here, and calling them ‘warmed up marshmallows’ would be closer to the truth, but it was a fun gimmick and the kids were happy none the less.

Once you’ve explored the peak and taken your photos, you’ll begin your descent. The descent follows a different path down so you get a little bit of a different experience. You’ll have more of a chance to enjoy the views and take some photos, since there’s much less huffing and puffing involved in hiking down a mountain.

Climb an active volcano