Hiking Guide to Acatenango & Fuego

If you are seeking adventure, you will find all the adventure you need in hiking Acatenango and Fuego in the beautiful country of Guatemala. As this hike is quite strenuous for some, I wanted to share my two cents on hiking the volcanoes Acatenango and Fuego, because there is so much you don't really understand when you go. Here are some of my tips on what I wish I knew before hiking the volcano!

Picking a Tour Company:

It is important to do your research when finding a tour company. We wanted a tour company with good reviews, good food options, comfortable accommodations, and the chance to hike to Fuego. We discovered GT Experience, and I would 100% go with them again if we had to do it all over again.

What to Expect:

• A 5-mile hike to the Base Camp

• A 5-mile hike to Fuego from the Base Camp

• A 4-mile hike to the top of Acatenango for sunrise

• A 5-mile hike back from Base Camp to the bus drop-off

This is a total of 20 miles of hiking in a day and a half! Should you train your body to do this before? It is doable to not train, but I would at least recommend being active for at least 30 minutes a day before this hike. It will help you feel less stiff and have enough stamina to do so!

What to Bring:

For a packing list, I would start with the following:

• Thermal Clothes - At the camp, it can get extremely cold at night, and the sleeping bags are very thin. If you do choose GT Experience, you can rent out some warm clothes like gloves, beanies, and jackets. However, I would recommend bringing your own as they weren't as warm as I would've wanted them to be. You can purchase light thermal clothes that will keep you warm during the cold nights.

• Hiking Sticks - If you have sticks, I would recommend bringing them. You can rent a stick, but many of the switchbacks are not maintained and can be a source of tripping, falling, or anything in between. If you want to be really safe, bring your own sticks!

• Water - Keep in mind that you do need to carry 4 liters of water - two for drinking and two for the guides. The guides will need at least 2 liters to heat your food and your hot chocolate. If you anticipate needing more water, you should bring more. We felt that 4 liters was the perfect amount.

• Hat, Sunglasses, Bug Spray, Ear Plugs (if you are a light sleeper to snoring or volcano noises), Wireless chargers (for phones), and Sunblock.

• Snacks: This tour (GT Experience) provided plenty of food, but if you are a snacker, I would recommend bringing some extra snacks with you!

• Motion Sickness Pills - you cannot find these over the counter, so I would recommend asking your doctor beforehand.

My Experience on the Hike:

On our 1st day, we arrived at the GT Experience: Tour Company. This is where we met the guides, and they went over the plan. They mentioned that the bus would skip an hour off the original hike. They told us that we are expected to carry the water, any additional things that we rent with them (thermal clothes, headlamps, sticks), and our lunch boxes. Make sure that you test your headlamp out beforehand to avoid running into the issue where the light is dim.

If you want to purchase a porter, it is about 250 Quetzals (32 US dollars), depending on the weight of your bag. If you ask for a porter, you will be expected to pay for them even if you choose not to use them. You will have to pay in cash.

Once we got all of our items, we loaded up in the van. The van is so interesting as they have a bunch of seats that don't look like they should be legal. Most of the vans have Korean names on them, as a lot of the vehicles in Guatemala came from donations from countries like Korea.

After arriving, you will come to the meeting point where you will meet more of the guides, as well as have the opportunity to pay to use the restroom and rent out actual hiking sticks. Once everyone gets a chance to use the restroom, you will be on your journey.

The ascent to the campsite will be 5 miles and will take approximately 5 hours, depending on how big the group is and your pace. The first couple of hours are a bit rough. In the beginning, there are bamboo railings that will help you get up. It is extremely steep at first, but you will start to get the hang of it. The guides tend to stop at least once every 40 mins or so. It is a good opportunity to apply sunblock or get a sip of water. There will be a moment where you can stop to eat lunch, which is an hour before you reach camp.

Once you arrive at camp, you will divide into groups of 5-6 people. You will get the opportunity to rest and choose your bunks for about an hour before having the opportunity to go to hike to the Fuego volcano. Make sure to only eat the snacks in your lunchbox, as they will call out the different food items for different times!

The hike to Fuego will be about 4-5 hours round trip and will be an additional 4 miles. You will start to hike as the sun is starting to set. This means that you will have to hike down Fuego and up Acatenango in the dark, which is the reason why it takes longer for a shorter distance.

Once you arrive at Fuego, you will see the volcano explode and get to take pictures. It's going to be crowded, but it is definitely worth the trip. Fuego explodes every 20 minutes. You get plenty of time to enjoy watching it and taking pictures and videos of the sunset. This was the highlight of my trip, and I wouldn't change it for anything! 

Once you leave Fuego, you will hike in the dark but you will have head lamps and try to go at your own pace so you can try to see to the best of your ability. It took us about 2 hours from Fuego to get back to camp. Once you arrive back at camp, you will eat dinner, and then you will have the opportunity to do the sunrise hike to Acatenango at 3 or 4 am. My friend group was not in good shape and could not do the sunrise hike. We ended up not doing the hike and just watching the sunrise from camp, which was still very much worthwhile!

The group should arrive back at 7 am. Everyone will eat breakfast and then head out shortly after. If you do the sunrise hike, you will get less than an hour to rest before hiking another 4 hours down the volcano. Once you are hiking down, you should arrive back in Antigua around 1 PM.