| 2 Days | 17.1 km | 1480 m ascent |
Long before arriving in Guatemala, we had decided to go on the famous hike up the Acatenango volcano. The inactive Acatenango offers the perfect viewing platform for the active twin volcano Fuego, which erupts very regularly and frequently. Just below the summit of Acatenango, countless tour operators have set up their basecamp and guide several hundreds to thousands of tourists there each day. As we had almost all the equipment we needed ourselves, and guided hikes aren’t really our thing anyway, we decided to do the hike on our own.
Taking buses in Guatemala
Our bikes were safely stored at a campsite and we took a night bus to Guatemala City. We arrived at the bus terminal way too early in the morning and with way too little sleep and spent some hours there before we went for breakfast in a cute vegan restaurant. It didn’t take us long to find the terminal for the local buses that would take us to Antigua. The local bus system consisted of decommissioned American school buses. On the outside, they were all painted and decorated in the fanciest ways – each bus was one of a kind – but inside, it was a completely different story. Most of the seat cushions were torn in places, and seatbelts were generally non-existent. On every bus, there was another person travelling alongside the driver who spent the whole ride shouting through the open door where the bus was going and, at some point, walked through the rows to collect fares. The entire journey, we were completely fascinated by it all.
We spent a night in a gorgeous hostel in Antigua. We had to organise a few things like getting cash and renting a few pieces of equipment. Our backpacks weren’t big enough, we didn’t want to destroy our cycling shoes on the volcanic rock and we needed hiking poles.
Antigua is well known for its many ruins in the middle of the city. After a severe earthquake at the end of the 18th century, so many buildings were destroyed that it lost its status as the capital, which was then moved to Guatemala City. During our short stay in Antigua, we visited the ruins of a cathedral and those of a monastery. I really liked the cathedral without its roof – it was just so beautifully bright everywhere! Later, we caught a bus to get to the trailhead. We spent the night at a small campsite there to be able to start early the next morning.
Acatenango Ascent
We got up early and felt kind of relieved not having to pack our bicycles for a change. It was steep from the beginning, and we were both glad about our hiking poles. We were so early that we nearly had the path to ourselves – all the guided groups would start hours later. In the late morning, we stopped for a quick break and were nearly at the top! For the remainder of the hike, we could hear Fuego erupt, but due to the fog, we weren’t able to see it for a while. We scrambled through the chaos of basecamps and found an operator that let us camp on their platform. Everything was so steep and narrow that we couldn’t just pitch the tent anywhere. We had such a great view from our spot though!
Towards late afternoon, the clouds cleared and we had an amazing view of the volcano. It erupted so regularly that we never had to wait for more than 15 minutes for the next eruption. The darker it got, the more impressive it looked. Sebi took a lot of photos. It was windy and freezing – after all we were at an elevation of over 3600 metres! We crawled into the tent and into our sleeping bags and watched the volcano from there.
Sunrise at the Summit
Our alarm went off at 02:45am. I don’t think I have ever got up earlier on my birthday! Through the night, we both woke up a few times because the Fuego had erupted so incredibly loudly. Sometimes it really did sound like a thunderstorm that was hovering above you. We packed our things and set off on the final climb to the summit. It was unbelievably steep – it felt almost vertical – and over loose volcanic rock, I don’t think I would have managed without the hiking poles. After about an hour, we were at the top – at 3976 metres! From a spot that was reasonably protected from the wind, we watched the volcano until it got light. It must have been an hour and a half, and it was so beautiful! Despite our warm clothes, we were quite cold and started the descent, which was just as gruelling as the climb.
Back at the trailhead, we didn’t have to wait long until the first bus came through and around lunchtime we were back in Antigua. In the evening, we met up with Ethan and Lani, whom we had met in Belize and who had arrived in Antigua shortly after us.
Cocoa Workshop in Antigua
Cacao is an important part of the Mesoamerican culture and played a central role already for the Maya and Aztecs. We had already visited a museum in Mexico City about the origins and significance of cacao in Mexico and Central America, and found it really fascinating. There was a similar museum in Antigua, and we had signed up for a workshop there on the day after my birthday. It was so interesting! We were allowed to process the cocoa ourselves and taste it at every stage – from the raw cacao bean right through to the cocoa paste. They showed us how to prepare the most important drinks, including cacao tea, which I had already discovered for myself in Belize. We also learnt that chocolate, as we know it, was only “invented” much later by the Europeans, as they found pure cacao too bitter. Sebi and I do love it though! We also learned about what must be the only reason that justifies a mosquito’s existence – they are the ones pollinating the cacao flowers! Afterwards, we spent a few more hours in Antigua before taking a bus back to Guatemala City.
Another night bus brought us back from Guatemala City to the campsite where we had left our bikes. We were both absolutely exhausted from the ride (Sebi adds that he could hardly sleep at all), and our muscles were so incredibly sore that we took another day’s rest at the campsite before getting back on the bikes.
Published on July 11, 2026
Experienced from 13.04.2026 – 19.04.2026
