Volcan Pacaya in Guatemala

The hike up to where the magma flows on Volcán Pacaya

In Antigua, climbing Volcán Pacaya is one of those things that only the tourists do. At just 2552m, it's not especially tall or a challenging climb, the view from the top is not very memorable, and many guidebooks recommend one of the closer Volcáns, such as Agua or Acatenango which have stunning views over Antigua and the surrounding areas. However, if you want to see real, live super-hot magma as it dribbles down from an active volcano, Pacaya is where you have to go!

The hike starts fairly inncouously, just a simple grass-covered track up a hill, however before too long, you come to a barren moonscape which is the extent to which previous lava flows from Pacaya have reached.

The rock itself is porous and very strange, however the highlight is definitely reaching the lava flow itself!

The heat that comes off the rocks is absolutely phenomenal, just facing it feels like you're putting your face right in front of Steph's super turbo hairdryer (this didn't make the final cut for the trip, by the way)!

One of the tricks that the guide did (this is why you need to have special training to be a guide on Volcan Pacaya!) was getting close enough to put his hiking stick into the red hot rock which instantly catches fire.

Steph and I were instantly regretting the fact that we didn't bring our hot dogs and marshmallows for toasting over the lava. However, it's probably a good thing as I'm sure that I would have lost the majority of my forearm hair, if not my eyebrows and eyelashes in an effort just to get close enough to the lava.

Another trick that the guide does is throw a handful of green leaves that he picked up off the trail which made a loud popping and cracking noise. Too much fun!

However in all seriousness, the lava was truly spectacular, the heat, the bizarre shapes that the lava flow makes when it cools and the porous feel of the rock were unique and well worth the short trek up.

As we were leaving, around 7:00pm, there was still a steady flow of people coming up the mountain to look at the lava, which had started to glow in the twilight darkness. It does mean that you make the descent down in relative darkness (luckily we bought our headlamps, we were advised to do this by other students as the tour operators forget to tell you this before you start the hike).

As we descended, the sunset was a spectacular deep blood red colour (probably due to the noxious fumes from the volcano). It was a great mid-week excursion for us during our Antigua Spanish lessons!