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VOLCAN DE FUEGO & ACATENANGO: A GUIDE FOR THE ULTIMATE OVERNIGHT HIKE

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If you’re looking for a thrill-seeking adventure and one that will test your physical and mental abilities, then this ultimate overnight hike is for you! This two-day hike to Volcan de Fuego & Acatenango is a trip of a lifetime! Witness epic views of Guatemalan volcanoes, lava explosions up to 1,000+ ft high, and a sunrise from atop a 13,000+ ft crater. The Acatenango hike is not for the weak, but it is for the brave, adventure seeker, mountain climbing, lava loving explorer. So, let’s get into it! ๐Ÿ‘‡

Adam & Paige in front of Volcan de Fuego while it's erupting.

THE PRACTICALITIES

WHEN TO VISIT

The best time of year to visit is from November-April. More specifically, December-February. During this time, the weather is dry, the skies are blue, and the temperature is perfect! After April, the weather will start to get wetter and hotter! There will be less tourism but summiting a volcano when it’s wet and hot doesn’t sound too appealing to me.

GETTING THERE

Getting to Volcan de Fuego & Acatenango, you must first fly into Guatemala, La Aurora International Airport. Next, I would suggest getting a private shuttle to Antigua. It will take about 2 hours depending on traffic. It’s very important that you give yourself a few days in Guatemala (no matter where that is) to adjust to the altitude. I would recommend at least 2 days before beginning your hike. After booking your hiking tour through a reputable company, they will make arrangements for you to get to the volcanoes to begin your trek.

BOOKING A TOUR COMPANY

There are many tour companies to choose from when booking your hiking expedition, but I would HIGHLY recommend OX Expeditions. We have nothing but good things to say about them!

Within in OX Expeditions, there are a few hiking tours to choose from:

  • ACATENANGO DAY TRIP
    • $69/person
    • 12-hour tour
    • Leave around 5am
    • Summit Acatenango & back
  • ACATENANGO OVERNIGHT HIKE
    • $119/person
    • Day and a half tour
    • Sleep at base camp in either cabin or tent
    • Summit Acatenango for sunrise (wake up at 3am)
    • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, & Breakfast included
    • Back in Antigua by 12pm
  • DOUBLE WHAMMY TOUR
    • $149/person
    • Day and a half tour
    • Sleep at base camp in either cabin or tent
    • Hike to Fuego Ridge for sunset and nighttime views of lava explosions
    • Summit Acatenango for sunrise (wake up at 3am)
    • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, & Breakfast included
    • Back in Antigua by 12pm

VOLCAN DE FUEGO & ACATENANGO TRAIL OVERVIEW

The hike to Volcan de Fuego & Acatenango is no easy feat. However, if you’re capable and willing, I truly think you’ll look back and think that was the coolest thing you’ve done! The trail starts and ends in La Soledad. And for the next day and a half you will be doing a lot of hiking with little to no sleep and 40% less oxygen. You’ll traverse through the rainforest, the alpine forest, and then encounter a knife’s edge at Fuego Ridge, and 360 views at the summit of Acatenango. If you’re completing the Double Whammy, like us, then you will hike 12.4 miles with an elevation gain of 7,000ft. Phew! But I believe in you!

2 DAY HIKING ITINERARY

The night before the hike a scheduled pre-trip meeting is arranged. It may not be mandatory; however, it is highly recommended! Here, you can pay your final balances, meet your tour guide, introduce yourself to other members of the hike, run through what the next two days will look like, and answer any remaining questions you have. You will also request gear, clothes, and/or trekking poles, which will be ready to go for the next morning. We found this meeting to be super helpful. It eased our nerves and made us so much more excited for the days ahead!

Doors to OX Expeditions unlocked at 6:20 AM. We then had 40 minutes to pack our bags, put our unwanted items in storage, and gather our additional gear, food, and poles.

Once our bags were packed, all ~50 of us loaded up into vans/shuttles and headed for breakfast. We stopped at Rainbow Cafe and had coffee, tea, and breakfast burritos. This was included in the cost of the tour. We felt that it was really cool how OX arranged for us to visit a local restaurant and give back to the community!

After breakfast, be sure to use the restroom! From Antigua to La Soledad is about an hour’s drive. Once you get to the trailhead you will have to pay GTQ5 for a bathroom. There are no other bathrooms (outhouse) until you reach base camp!

It’s time! For the next 3 hours (2.25 miles/3,038ft), you will make your way towards the lunch stop. About every 30 minutes or so the group will take roughly a 5-10-minute break. Your group, as well as guides, will move as one through the rainforest. One or two guides will lead the front of the pack and set the pace, one will always be in the back of the pack to ensure no one is left behind, and one or two will be dispersed in with the crowd checking on people. OX did a tremendous job making sure everyone was accounted for, keeping spirits high, and making the whole experience feel really personable!

You’re not quite to base camp, but you’re close! You’ll take a 30โ€“45-minute lunch break. Give your legs and lungs a break. Enjoy the delicious sandwich provided by OX and pet the mountain dogs who are patiently waiting for you to drop some breadcrumbs. Here, there are also some stands where you can purchase Gatorade, soda, chips, and other food items which the locals haul up the mountain daily.

Back on trail and only a little further to go, 1.75 miles to be exact. The views from lunch to base camp start to make everything feel real! You’ll get great views of Volcan de Aqua and know that Volcan de Fuego is just around the bend! We arrived at base camp just after 2. It was such a good feeling! Our cabin had epic views of Fuego, we just needed the clouds to move. We got our beds ready, used the bathroom, and repacked our bags, because the days hike wasn’t over yet.

If you choose to do the Acatenango Overnight Hike, then you will stay at base camp for the remainder of the evening. You’ll enjoy beautiful views of Fuego (hopefully) and have dinner around the campfire. Sounds lovely. If you choose to do the Double Whammy Tour, then you have about 5 more hours of hard work ahead. The trek to Fuego isn’t easy, but it’s definitely worth it! You’ll start this portion of the hike by descending roughly 900ft. And then making your way back up roughly 900 ft to Fuego Ridge. From here you can relax a bit, enjoy the sunset, the views, the explosions. And when the sun goes down, the lava!!

After all that excitement it’s time to head back to basecamp. We left about 7:00 PM and arrived back at 9. This was one of the hardest sections. It’s been a long day, it’s late, you’re tired, and hungry, and now you have to descend 900ft from Fuego ridge and ascend 900ft back up the mountain to get to dinner and bed.

We finally made it back to basecamp and for those who are hiking Acatenango at sunrise, you only have a few hours to eat dinner, get cleaned up, repack for the morning hike, and get some shut eye. It’s quite hard to do that when you have epic volcano views and thundering lava explosions out your cabin window all night long.

The morning came quick, but with lava exploding in the early hours of the morning, it didn’t take much for us to wake up. We gathered our things, got dressed, and stood around the campfire until it was time for the sunrise hikers to begin their trek.

For us, Acatenango was the toughest part of the overnight hike. 1,400 ft over the course of one mile made for a very slow hike. It was brutally cold, there’s 40% less oxygen, and we were running on little to no sleep. But in the end, we made it up to the crater and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise!

If you’re still feeling good at this point, do the extra Crater Run Challenge and win a free t-shirt! 600m around the rim of Acatenango without stopping!

The trek back down to base camp was honestly so fun! You’re basically skiing on volcanic ash. We were fortunate enough to have a beautiful, calm, and clear day which made the last looks of Fuego, Aqua, and Acatenango super memorable for us. After arriving back at base camp, we ate a delicious breakfast, turned down our cabin, emptied our boots of volcanic ash and rocks, packed our bags, and prepared for the trek down.

We began our descent down the mountain at 8:30am. It took roughly 3 hours. The way down was hard in its own way because of the loose volcanic rock. Trekking poles really came in handy here! Once everyone was accounted for, we loaded up the vans and made our way back to Antigua with an epic adventure in the books!

Picture of Volcan de Fuego & Acatenango hiking route with elevation gain and mileage.

OVERNIGHT HIKE PACKING LIST

MUST HAVE PACKING ITEMS

  • >40 L Backpack, Backpack cover
  • >4 L Water
    • OX requires each person to carry an additional .5 L for group meals
  • Boots with good tread
  • Extra set of hiking clothes
  • Base layers (leggings, long sleeve)
  • Camp shoes
  • Long sleeve sun shirt
  • Fleece
  • Rain Jacket, Poncho
  • Puffer Jacket
  • Hat, Gloves, Buff
  • Headlamp
  • Sunscreen, Chapstick
  • Toilet Paper, Deodorant, Toothbrush, Toothpaste
  • Snacks, Electrolytes
  • Emergency blanket, Blister patches, First aid kit, Medicine
    • Can purchase Diamox (altitude sickness meds) over the counter in Antigua
  • Ankle/Knee braces, KT tape
  • Sleep sack, Pillowcase, Eye mask, Ear plugs
  • Portable charger, charging cords
  • Cash
    • There are two entrance fees of GTQ50/person at each location (total of GTQ100/person)
    • Tip for guides/porters
    • Snacks & drinks at lunch
  • Trekking Poles
    • You can rent these from OX for $5
  • Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
    • Given to you by OX to carry in your bag
  • sunrise at Acatenango
  • descent from Acatenango
  • summit of Acatenango
  • view of Fuego from our cabin
  • cabin accomodations
  • view of Fuego from base camp
  • Fuego Ridge at sunset
  • sunrise at Acatenango
  • lunch break before base camp
  • breakfast before hike at Rainbow Cafe
  • unpredictable mountain weather
  • trekking poles, food, and gear from OX
  • sweet mountain dogs
  • Fuego Ridge at sunset
  • pre-trip meeting
SHOP MY GEAR

SHOULD YOU HIRE A PORTER

Hiring porters is a personal choice. We went back and forth a few times deciding if it was the right thing to do, if it was the wrong thing to do, if we felt we needed someone to carry our bags, what if we needed something in our bags, is it rude to pay someone else to carry it for us? Because of this, there was a lot to think about. In the end, Paige hired a porter for the way up. That cost her GTQ200 CASH (roughly $30). Afterwards, she carried her large park (with her small pack inside) on the way back down. In contrast, I opted to carry my 44L pack myself the entire way. I felt confident in my ability to lug it up to base camp.

REASONS TO HIRE A PORTER

  • Hiring a porter took a huge load off ascending to base camp. Which in turn, helped Paige complete the Double Whammy Tour. Paige carried 2 liters of water, snacks, and some essentials like sunscreen and Kleenex in her 14L pack. Her porter carried the rest.
  • Porters stay with the group at all times. Which means, if you need in your large pack at any moment, you will have access to it.
  • Hiring porters does not mean you are weak.
  • In fact, GTQ200 is almost double the DAILY wage of the average Guatemalan worker.
  • Most porters you will see carrying two-four bags on the way up. It’s quite impressive. Ultimately, this is them choosing to earn more money.
  • Moreover, you are helping contribute to the local community by hiring a porter.

FINAL ADVICE

  • Slow and steady wins the race! Luckily, the guides do a great job at keeping a steady pace. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, focus on your breathing, and you’ll get to the top!
  • Be sure to give yourself a few days in advance to adjust to the altitude!
  • Prepare for the hike! Depending on where you live it can be hard to train in high altitudes but making sure you are going on long hikes with elevation gain, walking on an inclined treadmill, and feeding your body nourishing food will help you.
  • Bring a buff! You can purchase one for $10 at OX, but the trail is extremely dusty, and we were so thankful to have ours!
  • Pack an extra trash bag to collect not only your trash, but trash that was left behind.
  • Don’t forget your TP!
  • There is no water on the volcanoes, so if you feel 4 L is not enough, bring more, or drink sparingly.
  • The mountain dogs are sweet as can be! Kindly, pack a few dog treats for them to enjoy.
  • Bring extra snacks if you are hiring a porter. They do receive lunch but would also appreciate snacks if you have some to spare! They are carrying your bag after all.
  • In addition, don’t forget to tip your guides and porters! They do phenomenal work.
  • Obviously, the main goal of this expedition is to see lava and summit Acatenango, but weather and eruptions can be unpredictable. Make sure you have other reasons for working hard and summiting volcanoes. Otherwise, this will not be enjoyable. Enjoy the hikes, enjoy your group, prove to yourself that you are capable of doing hard things and overall, try and have fun!

Hi! We’re Paige & Adam ๐Ÿ™‚

Thank you for joining us on this journey! We’re passionate explorers who are dedicated to keeping our bodies moving until we’re old and grey. Through our travel guides and expert travel physical therapy advice, we empower future travelers with the tools and inspiration to embrace adventure every step of the way. Your support means everything. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have! Have fun, stay safe, and happy hiking!

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