Pacaya Volcano in Antigua, Guatemala

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We decided to do a volcano walk in the late afternoon of December 6, 2007 so that we could view the lava at night. We drove from Antigua back to Guatemala city and then up part of Pacaya Volcano, we had to walk the rest of the way to the older lava fields. It was about a 2 hour hike up to the lava fields and then we walked on to the lava fields to take our standing room only seats for the show. During our wait for night fall we were treated to a great sunset, and once darkness fell we watched the glow of lava rocks above!

The lava fields are razor sharp and heat still emanates from below, so you cannot stand in one place for to long or you risk melting your shoes! Watching the lava at night also has its perils, the walk back across the the razor sharp fields in the dark with only a flashlight, or torch as our Australian friends like to call it! The other hazards of hiking Pacaya Volcano are less environmental, our guide carried a sawed off shotgun for the duration of the tour, in case bandits were in the area! If you are ever in Antigua, make sure you take a tour of Pacaya volcano!

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