Where Lava Meets Sky – Hiking Volcan Pacaya in Antigua, Guatemala

When my best friend and I first decided to go to Guatemala, the last thing I expected to do was to climb an active volcano, but alas, when do I not find myself doing something outrageously adventurous when traveling. Guatemala is a unique country with so much to offer, especially for those who love nature. Despite not being an outdoor enthusiast, I love some good cardio and was up for the challenge of hiking Volcan Pacaya.

Volcan Pacaya is an active stratovolcano that lies just outside of Antigua, Guatemala. A stratovolcano is a volcano that is formed through alternating layers of hardened lava and ash Their defining features are a cone-like shape and steep sides.

There are several volcanoes to hike throughout Guatemala, with the most popular and challenging being Volcan Acatenango and its’ neighbor, Volcan de Fuego. That hike takes multiple days and requires camping, but you are guaranteed to see lava light up the sky because Volcan de Fuego erupts daily at dawn like clockwork. Since we didn’t have much time to spare or the stamina to hike for days, we chose to hike Volcan Pacaya, which takes about 2hrs roundtrip.

A transfer bus picked us and a few others up from our hotel and we began our journey to Volcan Pacaya. When we arrived, we met our guide and he gave us the hiking rules:

Drink water.

Go at your own pace.

Don’t forget to breath – so your body/lungs can regulate to the change of altitude as we ascend.

We grabbed our hiking sticks and a bottle of water and followed our guide. The hike would not be taking us to the summit of the volcano but to the lava fields along the sides of its’ cone.

We walked and talked as we made our way through first rubble and then forest. About 30-minuets in, the path began to shift into a steep incline. So steep that we had to use our sticks to push ourselves forward to prevent from sliding down. It was challenging, but we pressed forward huffing and puffing. The tour staff had brought along horses for people to ride if they were unable to continue on foot. A few people from our party took the horses, but we kept it pushing.

Halfway through the hike, we stopped to take a breather and enjoy the views. From afar, we could see the majestic Volcan Acetenango and Volcan de Fuego smoking in the distance. The epic views gave us a burst of energy to keep going.

Finally, we arrived at the lava fields. The earth and soil immediately changed from a dirty brown to a charcoal, sandy black. We walked the winding path to the main area of the lava fields, where we could feel heat radiating from the earth. Wow! We were standing on a real life volcano – how did I end up here?

We made our way over to the view point. It was magnificent! It literally felt like we were in heaven. The billowing clouds engulfed us and they shined fluorescent hues of blue and purple. It felt like we were floating in the sky! We sat on a pile of rocks and admired the view for awhile, before our guide came over and handed us a marshmallow and a stick.

He showed us a special pile of rocks that had a hole in the center. “Watch.” He stuck his marshmallow stick inside the hole and a few seconds later pulled it out. It was roasted! The heat rising from under the earth was so hot it could roast a marshmallow! Where was my s’mores kit when I needed it?

The guide told us that during the high season there is even a man who cooks pizza via the heated rocks and sells it to hikers. We giggled, enjoyed our marshmallows and admired the view once more before beginning our trek back. We definitely earned that marshmallow and a post hike massage!