Your Complete Guide to Hiking Acatenango

Jan 24

So you’re about to hike Acatenango and see Volcán de Fuego.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is it?

Short version - It’s a 2 day hike up a a dormant volcano connected to an active volcano.

Acatenango is the third-highest peak in Guatemala, standing at 3,976 meters (13,045 feet) above sea level. It’s a dormant volcano that is joined to Fuego, which is one of the most active volcanoes in Central America, erupting frequently.

The hike is a 1 hour drive from Antigua to the start of the trail, followed by a 5 hour hike up to basecamp, then an optional 4 hour hike down from basecamp and up to a closer overlook of Fuego, then the optional one hour sunrise hike to the Acatenango summit at 3am. You sleep at basecamp and hike down in the morning by noon.

How to book the hike

You’re going to need to book it through a tour. It’s an overnight hike, and the mountain is cold. They have the base camp and sleeping supplies and unless you’re Jason Bourne you are not pulling this off yourself and having a good time doing it.

I used Brothers Expeditions (they were fine but only spoke Spanish), but I’ve heard good things about Wilco & Charlie as well, who will let you hire a porter last minute to carry your bags up.

What to know

Here is a massive list of things that you should know (read them all, trust me) before doing this hike.

The slopes.

The slopes on this hike are nuts. It’s nearly straight up the mountain. You don’t zig zag up. No side to side. Literally just show up and walk straight up the side. It sucks.

2. It’s full of sand and loose gravel.

The first part of this trail is like doing the stair master in sand. You’re in a ditch for half an hour walking up sand that slides you backwards with each step you take. It does become mud and actual ground as you get passed the resturant (yes, someone put a whole restaurant towards the beginning).
The hike to the summit is full of loose gravel and dirt that just slides you backward every time you step somewhere. Making progress up this mountain is like taking 3 steps up for every one step’s worth of distance.

3. Headphones

You don’t need them. You will probably not use them. Maybe you can get away with airpods, but actual headphones are so unnecessary and take up space.
You’ll be surprised how much you don’t use these, and you can always play music out loud. Everyone else will.

4. Additional hikes

Consider these carefully. Unless you’re well conditioned and very fit, there’s a solid chance that you are not hiking 5 hours, then doing another 4 right after, then doing another 1 the next morning. If you get to basecamp, and you are tired, just go ahead and nap. Don’t even try to hike more. It will make your second day awful.
I hiked the additional 4 hour hike to the next volcano, and it is not worth it in my opinion. You get the exact same view at basecamp but just a little closer for 4 hours of serious cardio. There’s really no reason to do it. Stay at basecamp and save your energy for the summit. It’s way cooler.
Don’t pay in advance, bring cash and see how you feel when offered the chance to go
De Fuego hike - the volcano hike is easy at first as it goes down with some athletics, then across a small dip between the mountains. The hike up is the hardest thing ever, you’re nearly climbing on hands and knees, and this hike will wipe you out beyond what you can imagine if you were already tired from before. it’s literally just the volcano but closer, and I wouldn’t even go again a second time as I don’t feel the closer view was worth the struggle. Unless you’re a professional photographer or something, the view you get from base camp is incredible and more than enough. the close up view isn’t much more special, trust me. Only 6 of us went up here
Summit hike - an hour, but you wake up at 3 am and the ground is basically all very loose and dusty gravel, so every step you take will slide you backwards. I puked quite a bit halfway here and decided to truck it back to base camp and take a nap. The sunrise at base camp is also incredible, so if you’re feeling like shit, there’s no shame in just sitting this one out as well. Most of our group sat this out, and only 5/17 went.

5. Bring cash

You need cash on the hike to buy water and snacks at various rest stops, there are no card options.

6. The way back down

Make sure your hiking boots have grip and space in the toe box or you will be falling constantly down loose gravel and bashing your toes. Sneakers will have you sliding and falling, so if you’re backpacking and have no choice - keep that in mind. Personally, I found this to be less tiring but painful for my knees and my ankles as the slope forces you to basically just run down hill at times. Half of the group actually did just run down. Just be honest with yourself about what you’re capable of here. There’s no reason to ruin the entire trip trying to force yourself to hike things you can’t hike.
It is much easier to hike down than up though. The way down is over quicker with less breaks. I’d recommend starting with less clothes on. It’ll heat up quick.
Don’t plan a full day of activities on the day you get back. You probably will if you’re a budget traveler or backpacking like i was, but swinging an extra day at the hostel will have you incredibly grateful to yourself, because your entire body will be dirty, sweaty, sore, and you will be more tired than you have ever been in your life. Plan to just sit on the couch and rot. Take a nap even.

7. The sleeping situation

It sucks. No way to spice that up. It’s 7 people side by side in sleeping bags on thin mattresses. It’s freezing outside of the sleeping bag. It’s cold inside the sleeping bag. Even with every layer you brought on. I slept in thermals, a hoodie, gloves, and a beanie, and people next to me took it a step further with wool jackets and their trail pants on top of that. We were all freezing and nobody could fall asleep. Except for the people who snore apparently.
There’s also no pillows, so if you’re a side sleeper, you’re screwed. I’m not even sure it’s worth the weight or space to bring one. I tried to use my hoodie on top of my arm, but even though I was more tired than ever before in my life, and could literally sit down at any spot on the trail and sleep - I could not fall asleep in this situation. It was awful.
I’m not sure you can really even avoid this part, but I can tell you to not underestimate the cold. You’ll have doubts about the extra gear when you walk up and it’s 75 degrees the entire way up, but the moment the sun sets it drops to like 24° immediately. It’s fucking cold. It’s really fucking cold. I could only stay warm by nearly standing in the fire. Soon as the sun comes up past sunrise a bit though it’s suddenly too hot for anything you have on.
Bonus tip - Don’t put water anywhere near your sleeping bag or clothes. If you spill it, you’re going to have the worst night of your life. Ask me how I know.

Packing

Rent the hiking poles. Rent the hiking poles.
You do not need to bring an excessive amount of water. There are several spots on the way up to buy more at. Don’t weigh yourself down by bringing all of it.
You can also buy snacks along the way, if you don’t want to carry them the whole time.
Wet wipes? Yes. Pray you don’t have to poop up there.
Toilet paper? Same answer.
Sunscreen? Also yes. If you have skin showing, you will probably get sun burnt. My shoulders did.
Poncho? No. Awful idea. It’s a pain in the ass to repack, and the only thing worse than hiking up this volcano in the heat is hiking up this volcano in a plastic bag in the heat. Just bring a light rain shell please.
Headlamp! Huge deal. It is pitch black up there. You aren’t going to see anything without one. This is a requirement..
Face covering? Optional. Sometimes there was a lot of dust, but it’s up to you if you want to bring a dedicated face covering to deal with that.
Food. My tour company had us put our provided meals inside our own bags. Makes sense but not something you think of when packing. Leave room at the top of your bag for this.
Portable charger? Big yes. You need this if you want to be able to take any photos of the volcano.
GoPro? If you have one, 2 Enduro batteries lasted me the entire hike, but I limited my recording to be mostly the volcano and the short clips of the hiking.