Hiking Acatenango in Guatemala: What you Need to Know & Why it’s One of my FAVORITE Travel Experiences Ever!
The title says it all- it is one of my favorite travel experiences to date! I can’t recommend hiking Volcan de Acatenango enough, and as hard as it was, I would do it again.
Seeing the eruptions at night, with the lava bursting up to the sky and feeling the Earth shake- an experience I’ll never forget. Hiking to the summit the next morning was so difficult, but being at the top seeing Fuego erupt while the sun rose literally brought me to tears. It was so beautiful, and I was so proud of myself for getting up there even when I wanted to quit!
In this blog post I have broken down why I chose the tour company I did, hiking stats, gear, porters, and more.
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Which Tour Company to Choose?
We chose Wicho and Charlie’s as our hiking tour company for a few reasons.
First, they have the best reliable reputation when researching and reading reviews online.
They have cabins to stay in instead of tents which protects against the elements a bit more, you can even book a private cabin.
They provide small dog food bags, the only tour company that does this, to feed dogs on your hike that live on the mountain. Yay for supporting animals!
We also heard first hand from a guide that said he’s been working for them for years and stays with them because of how they treat their guides!
Hike Stats
Trailhead to Base Camp: 4.25 miles one way with 5200 ft elevation gain.
Base Camp to Fuego Ridge (Optional): Another ~3miles round trip with 1500 ft elevation gain. You will have maybe 1 hour to rest after arriving to base camp until you set off to do Fuego. Going to Fuego will take you about ~4-5 hours, and be sure to pack lots of layers as it can get very windy and cold at the saddle! I unfortunately didn’t make it to Fuego but wish I could have.
Base Camp to Acatenango Summit (Optional): Additional ~2-3 miles with 1000-1400 ft elevation gain (couldn’t find a reliable number on this). I did the summit sunrise hike and really glad I did! It was challenging and involved a 3:45AM wake up call- which never really matters when you don’t get any sleep anyway! Going up was ROUGH and involved a number of breaks to catch my breath. But the view at the top was more than worth it.
This is a challenging hike, though I do think it is doable for anyone that is in pretty good physical shape. Just do not underestimate it!
The altitude affected me in two main ways: a pounding headache when arriving to base camp that lasted a few hours, and being pretty dang short of breath! Base camp sits around 13,000 ft with the summit at around 14,000 ft. Even while turning over in bed at night, I was having a hard time taking a deep breath! Wild.
Porter or Not to Porter…
Full disclaimer: I hired a porter to carry my bag.. both ways. While trip planning, I absolutely didn’t think I would hire one at all.. but alas I caved. If you read my blog post regarding Lake Atitlan, I broke 2 vertebrae from a cliff jump and was in a lot of back pain! I also thought it would give me a better chance of getting to Fuego. Spoiler alert: it did not.
Anyway.. it costed 200 quetzales each way (about 25 USD) for porter service and to me was worth every penny.
Prior to the hike, I wasn’t sure how I ethically felt about hiring a porter. However, if you think about it.. you are providing them with a job and money for the day. Also, tip well! It is a strenuous hike, and they did you a huge service by making it easier for you by carrying your bag.
Gear
Wicho and Charlie’s has pretty much all the gear there to either rent or included in the price. The only thing I will note is that some of the items (trekking poles especially) can run out before everyone has the chance to check everything out.
I personally was able to rent a 40L Backpack, a windbreaker jacket, gloves, buff (lots of dust coming down!), trekking poles, and 3 1.5L water bottles that you fill up there! They also have a large selection of pants, shirts, and sweaters.
Note that it is required in addition to your drinking water to carry 1 liter of water to give your guides to make your food. I had a total of 5.5 liters for the two days which I thought was perfect, especially if you are going to do either of the additional hikes.
Pack warm layers.. and more warm layers. Seriously this was the most cold I have EVER been camping.. And I’ve camped in 20 degree weather in Utah before. They provide 2 wool blankets and I just could not get warm at night, I didn’t sleep a wink. But I do run really cold in general, and I think asking for a hot water bottle would have helped!
Food
Before the hike, Wicho and Charlie’s provides breakfast, and you fill up a paper bag with trail mix you hand pick.
For lunch, they give you a paper bag with tupperware that has plant based meatballs and mashed potatoes as well as an apple. They will provide you with some gravy for it when you stop for lunch.
Dinner is served at camp, after they make you some decadent hot chocolate to enjoy around the fire at sunset! Dinner was a delicious vegan curry with rice. Afterwards you can enjoy roasting marshmallows while watching Fuego erupt- yeah it is quite magical. 🙂
For breakfast, they serve a breakfast burrito with coffee or tea.
Overall, hiking Acatenango was an unforgettable experience. Even when it was tough, seeing a freaking VOLCANO erupt that close and feeling the eruptions is a once in a lifetime experience.
Want to know more about my time spent in Guatemala? Read my other blog post on spending the week in this amazing country and about swimming in Lake Atitlan!
