One of the essential experiences in Guatemala for the adventurous is to summit Volcan Acatenango. I’d first heard it suggested as far back as Panama (with Alex knowing two colleagues who have climbed it as well) and it has been firmly on our plans since at least Nicaragua.
Acatenango itself is just under 4000m (13000ft) at the summit and hasn’t erupted since 1972. So far it’s just another volcano in the many volcanoes of Central America. What makes Acatenango interesting is that it is joined to Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Fire), an extremely active volcano that erupts regularly and had been erupting since early March. It’s also not without danger, as an eruption in 2018 killed hundreds and hiking the optional last climb up Fuego itself can be somewhat controversial due to the potential risk. While Acatenango is comparatively safe, as recently as 2017 six (poorly equipped) hikers died of hypothermia as the camps are just below the summit and regularly drop below freezing overnight.
The hike itself is yet another challenge, starting at 2400m (7875ft) ascending to the basecamp at 3700m (12140ft) in one day.
Continue reading “Hiking the Acatenango Volcano”
