Hello! I'd like to know which volcanoes i could climb on my own ans which ones require a guide. Im on a low budget and id like to save that extra money on those ones that can be done with no guide. I really wanna hike the best volcanos in Guate, this is one of the main attractions that are taking me to the country in a few days! :D And I will only spend that extra money required for a tour/guide if its really the only way to do that particular volcano trekking. So could u please advice me about which ones would demand such cost and which ones are safe enought to do the myself alone? (Well actually not totally alone, we are 2 travelers)
The following are the hikes we'd like to do:
Near Antigua: Pacaya, Agua, Acatenango, Fuego.
Near Xela: Chicabal, Cerro Quemado, Santa María, Tajumulco, Santiaguito, Zunil?, Santo Tomás?, Cuxliquel?
Near the Lake Atitlan: Nariz de Indio, San Pedro, Pakisis?
Thank u very much!! :-)
I assume you are not planning to climb them all! You would need lots of time and you would have to be in excellent shape.
I climbed Acatenango (with a guide and security guard). I climbed Santa Maria (with a guide and police escort) and I climbed Tajumulco (with a guide). All are great. Some people do go without a guide and if you just google "Santa Maria, Tajumulco, Acatenango on your own" or "do it yourself" or "without a guide" you will find trip reports from people who did that. I would not recommend it because of safety issues and because you could get lost. On all three I was very happy to have a guide. Acatenango overnight (I recommend the overnight because if Fuego erupts you could see lava and the sunrise is great as well) costs the most: $90. Tajumulco overnight (I recommend the overnight because the sunrise is amazing) is $50-60. Santa Maria $30-40.
For Acatenango you can also go with a local guide which should cut the cost in half. You can find guides in La Soledad. But if you want to stay overnight which I highly recommend you will need to rent a tent/sleeping bag in Antigua. And take something warm. It gets very cold at night. Just google: "Acatenango with local guide" or "Acatenango from La Soledad".
These are all tough hikes. Make sure you are acclimatized.
My number one would have to be Acatenango from Antigua. It is a very hard steep hike up but you go from farmland to cloud forest to high alpine forest to volcanic scree. Looking down on the clouds, seeing volcano Agua and then on top seeing volcano Fuego erupt is amazing. We saw lava at night. The sunset and sunrise were spectacular. We went with OX.
Number 2 for me is Santa Maria from Xela. Also a hard climb. Again, you will look down on a cloud blanket and as you go higher the views of Xela are amazing. At the top you can see lots of other volcanoes and of course you look down on active volcano Santiaguito. Seeing Santiaguito erupt is spectacular. Moreover there are almost always Maya people at the top chanting and praying. If you climb up on a Sunday you will climb with lots of Maya families. Clouds do roll in quickly so you have to leave as early as possible. If you get to the top and there are clouds you might still have a view of Xela but you wouldn't be able to see Santiaguito which is lower. We went with Kaqchikel Tours.
Number 3: Tajumulco, also from Xela. I recommend the overnight trip as the sunrise is amazing. This climb is less hard than Acatenango and Santa Maria. It is the highest peak in Central America.
Back to Antigua: hikes are also offered to the Fuego ridge. Again, very tough. This is a very active volcano. Don't go without a guide.
Agua is supposed to have security issues so again, you would need a guide. I have not climbed Agua but I was told Acatenango is more spectacular.
Pacaya can be done through any tour company in Antigua as a morning or afternoon trip. It is not hard. You can't go to the top any more. You also won't see lava.
In Antigua I would choose Acatenango.
Xela: if you have time I would go for both Santa Maria and Tajumulco (Tajumulco overnight).
Santiaguito is a very tough hike, not many people go there. If you still have the energy and you have time... go for it. But again, this is a very active volcano. You need a guide. There is also an easier hike to the Santiaguito viewpoint.
I have not climbed Cerro Quemado but I have heard it is very easy to get lost.
We did do the hike to Laguna Chicabal without a guide:
You need to take a bus to San Martin Sacatepequez also called San Martin Chile Verde (direction of Colomba or Coatepeque). The bus let us off at the sign for Laguna Chicabal. We followed a steep road up for 40 minutes and then went downhill to the ranger’s station. We paid Q15 per person and followed a steep trail to the mirador, overlooking Laguna Chicabal (another 40 minutes). It is a crater lake and it is beautiful. We were lucky, it was close to noon and we still had a great view, clouds came and went, often it is completely clouded over in the afternoon. On the other side of the mirador we were supposed to have a view of Santa Maria and Santiaguito but saw only clouds. We made our way down to the lake (and later back up…) : 600 steps ! The lake is sacred to the Mam, we walked all around it, saw lots of bamboo, wild white lilies and other flowers, we saw Maya altars and Maya people holding a ceremony and the flower bouquets they put in the lake. Going down we talked to several locals, all very friendly, and saw corn drying on the roofs. The views of San Martin and the mountains were amazing.
The Fuentes Georginas hot springs in Zunil near Xela are very scenic. I believe it is from there that you could hike up Santo Tomas and Zunil. But both are tough hikes and I would again not attempt them without a guide.
Cuxliquel is supposed to be easy (more like a hill) and takes only an hour or so and an hour back down.
I have not climbed San Pedro or La Nariz de Indio. My nephew did and he preferred La Nariz de Indio (more views). He said he would not have wanted to hike up San Pedro without a guide for fear of getting lost. Maybe you could do Nariz de Indio without a guide but you would have to ask about safety.
I don't know Pakisis.
Most of them require a guide, or if not a guide is a good idea. You can hike up Tajamulco without a guide, for example, but the path isn't marked and doesn't go straight up, so most likely you would get lost unless you are following other tourists who have employed a guide. For some of these hikes cheap group trips are available from local travel agencies, and for others, like the ones from San Pedro on Lake Atitlan the cost of hiring a guide is negligible.
They would probably be fine but my last trip up from San Juan there were several groups of men saying we needed to pay fees or not pass by them; I was glad to have a local guide with us.
Wow! Thank u so much for ur answers!! I really appreciate that!!
As i already guessed, with a guide things are of course easier and u dont risk being lost. I believe that those treks that deserve one night over there might be better with a guide, like Acatenango and Tajamulco, both of them im looking forward to so for sure. Id like to see Chicabal and Santa Maria also for sure.
Near Antigua, which is more spectacular? Agua or Fuego? Id like to choose one.
In lake atitlan im definetely hiking both San Pedro and Nariz del Indio. Does somebody know something about Pakisis?
And please, could u advice me about the cheapest agencies/ tour companies for the hikes that require a guide preferably?
Thank u very much!!!
see the nose from the santa clara side, save yourself a long climb and passing the extortionists.
Acatenango and Tajumulco are both amazing and both great as overnight treks. Santa Maria is amazing as well (like I said you have to be a bit lucky with the weather) and Chicabal is great too.
I would certainly choose Fuego and not Agua. But be aware that from Acatenango you have great views of Fuego. And you can't climb Fuego all the way (Fuego is very active) but you can get close. You will get to go on the knife-ridge leading to Fuego. Now if you really want to do both Acatenango and Fuego and you are very fit look at the "double whammy" trek that OX offers (they call it the toughest physical challenge they offer and I can assure you that Acatenengo alone was not easy...): http://www.guatemalavolcano.com/DoubleWhammy.html With OX Acatenango is $90 and so is Fuego but the double whammy is $129 so it would be the cheapest option as well...
You can also go with Old Town Outfitters. They also have a "double header", Acatenango and Fuego: http://adventureguatemala.com/the-double-header/
For Acatenango and Fuego OX (and probably Old Town as well) requires 4 people minimum. They both will have a day that they have a group going that they can add you to. Right now that is on Wednesdays for Acatenango overnight with OX. If you want to go on a day that they don't have a group going you have to find two more people or they will try to find two more people. So best to contact them and schedule a date.
In Xela we used Kaqchikel Tours, a local tour company (should be $50-60 for Tajumulco and $30-40 for Santa Maria): http://kaqchikeltoursxela.com/hikes.html They were always willing to take just the two of us if more people did not sign up. Normally the price goes down a bit with more people.
Also check out Quetzaltrekkers (Tajumulco $65, Santa Maria $40): http://www.quetzaltrekkers.com/xela/treks/
Adrenalina tends to be more expensive but lots of info on their website: http://www.adrenalinatours.com/hikes-treks/half-day-treks.html
You can also look at Altiplanos: http://altiplanos.com.gt/hikes.html
Make sure you have enough time in Antigua and Xela... you will need a rest day here and there (I think!). And make sure you are acclimatized.
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