Pacaya Volcano Hike - Guatemala
Pacaya Volcano is located just an hour and a half drive from Guatemala City (an hour and fifteen from Antigua). It first erupted over 23,000 years ago and is currently, one of the most lively volcanos in Central America and is one of Guatemala's most active volcanoes. Pacaya volcano, standing at 8,373 feet (2,552 meters). Typical activity in recent years includes strombolian activity, lava flow emission and intermittent violent phases of lava fountaining.
Pacaya Volcano Guatemala
Pacaya is a complex basaltic volcano constructed just outside the southern topographic rim of the 14 x 16 km Pleistocene Amatitlán caldera. A cluster of dacitic lava domes occupies the southern caldera floor. The post-caldera Pacaya massif includes the Cerro Grande lava dome and a younger volcano to the SW. Collapse of Pacaya volcano about 1100 years ago produced a debris-avalanche deposit that extends 25 km onto the Pacific coastal plain and left an arcuate cone inside which the modern Pacaya volcano (McKenney cone) grew. A subsidiary crater, Cerro Chino, was constructed on the NW cone and was last active in the 19th century.
Don Agusto, our professional guide
During the past several decades, activity at Pacaya has consisted of frequent strombolian eruptions with intermittent lava flow extrusion that has partially filled in the caldera moat and armored the flanks of McKenney cone, punctuated by occasional larger explosive eruptions that partially destroy the summit of the cone.
Camp Expedition
After being dormant for over 70 years, it began erupting vigorously in 1961 and has been erupting frequently since then. So far, the last activity reported has been the eruption that peaked on 2008, 2010, March 2, 2014, May 2018, causing ash to rain down in Guatemala City, Antigua and Escuintla. It has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest.
Though the volcano has frequent eruptions that have been seen from Guatemala City, these bursts usually spew only small amounts of ash—just enough to make the rocks hot enough to toast marshmallows on, which you will literally get to do. So, if you are expecting to see red lava running down from the peak, that’s probably not going to happen.
About the Volcano Pacaya Hike :
The Volcano of Pacaya is one of the most accessible volcanoes in Guatemala, which makes it very popular. You will be sharing the trail with many others. This, along with the food stands that you will find on different segments of the trail and the marshmallows you will get to toast on the heat of the volcanic rock, make the experience much more fun. Bring some graham crackers and chocolate if you want to make your marshmallow a s’more!
Bring your marshmallow
Pacaya stands a whopping 8,373 feet tall and the trek has an elevation gain of around 1,500 feet. It’s classified medium difficulty hike. The hike started at the welcome center in the hamlet of San Francisco de Sales and took about 2 hours to hike to the top. The steepness combined with the altitude and trail length proved to be on the more difficult side.
Sauna rock
If you aren’t the fittest you can still get to the top, with a little bit of help. To aid your efforts on this hiking excursion, you have a few options – to rent a horse (approximately 200 Quetzal, $27 USD) or purchase a walking stick (5 Quetzal, $0.7 USD). The sticks must be purchased at the beginning of the hike, but the horses will follow you for about a quarter of a mile to see if you get tired.
After almost two hours and an elevation increase of just over 1600 feet we reached our destination. Though we were not at the tippy top of the volcano, we were at the point where sections of lava rock is warm to the touch and certain crevices were burning.
Lava flow
Best Times to Visit :
As for the best time of the year for undertaking the hike of the Pacaya Volcano, this would be November, or the beginning of the dry season in Guatemala. At this time, the surrounding countryside is still green from recent rains, and verdant forests make a contrasting backdrop to the bare volcanic landscape. The entire span of the dry season (which lasts until April) is usually considered the second-best time for taking a Pacaya hike.
As for the best time of the year for undertaking the hike of the Pacaya Volcano, this would be November, or the beginning of the dry season in Guatemala. At this time, the surrounding countryside is still green from recent rains, and verdant forests make a contrasting backdrop to the bare volcanic landscape. The entire span of the dry season (which lasts until April) is usually considered the second-best time for taking a Pacaya hike.
Beauharnois High School group 2018
Booking a Tour :
- Pacaya Volcano Tour and Hot Springs with box lunch from Antigua.
- Pacaya Volcano Tour with box lunch from Antigua.
- Pacaya Volcano overnight camp.
Overnight Camp is an amazing experience:
We run a very professional tour where you hike to the base of the volcano, set up your campsite and watch the sunset, and then after dark hike to the lava field. All meals are included.
We run a very professional tour where you hike to the base of the volcano, set up your campsite and watch the sunset, and then after dark hike to the lava field. All meals are included.
Hot Spring Santa Teresita
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HOT SPRING:
After your hike, we can offer you Santa Teresita Spa to do a therapy circuit in their thermal baths. You can sipped on fresh fruit smoothies as we immersed your body in thermal water pools of different temperatures, that improve circulation, relax the bodies muscles and eliminate stress. |
Overnight Camp Expedition
All tours include :
- Roundtrip Transportation
- 1 Bottle of water
- 1 Box lunch
- Professional local guide (Spanish)
- Our guide, english, french speaking.
- Volcano Entrance
- All meals (For overnight camp only)
- Camping gear (For overnight camp only)