Hiking Volcan Santiaguito

Hiking Volcan Santiaguito will be a once in a lifetime experience of watching one of the most most active volcanoes in the world. With its elevation of 3,771.9 meters (12,375 ft), this volcano is located in the south foot of Volcan Santa Maria, surrounded by a mountainous zone, near the city of Quetzaltenango. In 1902, it generated one of the largest eruptions in the world which destroyed several villages south of it.

Simplified plate tectonics cross-section showing how Santa Maria Volcano is located above a subduction zone formed where the Cocos and Caribbean plates collide. Photo and text courtesy [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Currently, it has a complex of four rocky lava domes, one of which is called Fuego (fire) which is the active dome. It typically creates big a explosion followed up by a huge cloud of smoke every 60 minutes. The cloud can reach up to 8 kms into the sky.

Our meeting place for this hiking trip to Volcan Santiaguito starts in our building at 6:00 AM. From here, hikers will take a bus to Llanos del Pinal. We will start hiking from this point. The first part, 25 minutes, will be very hilly and rocky. When we reach the cone of Volcan Santa Maria, we will turn to the right for 40 minutes. The path from this place to the Santiaguito’s lookout is surrounded by vegetation and rolling hills.

Price for this hiking trip is $30.00 per person with minimum of 4 people. The trip includes: hiking guide, transportation from the city to Llanos del Pinal, purified water in our building (please bring your water bottle), entrance fee to access the park.

You should bring snacks, plenty of water, a sweater/fleece, windbreaker jacket, hiking shoes and camera to take pictures. It will be chilly when we begin and warm up later in the day.

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