Trilogy - The ultimate Guatemalan challenge

The Trilogy - The ultimate challenge

Is the ultimate challenge to mountaineers in Guatemala, ascending 3 huge volcanoes Agua-Fuego-Acatenango. One of the hardest hikes of Guatemala. Only for people with excellent physical conditions. The challenge is to complete the ascend to 3 volanoes, more that 5000 mts gain, about 30 kilometers.

Meters Altitude – Name

1990 – Sta Maria de Jesus Antigua Guatemala
3760 - Agua volcano
1350 - Alotenango
3763 - Fuego volcano
3330 – La Horqueta
3976 – Acatenango volcano
3880 - Acatenango’s secondary summit (Yepocapa).
2400 – La Soledad

Estimated time

*With full backpack equipment and good physical conditions

6 hours –Sta Maria de Jesus / Agua summit
5 hours –Agua summit / Alotenango center town
2 hour – Alotenango center town / begining path Fuego
10 hours – Beginning path Fuego / Fuego close to the summit
35 minutes – Closer that you can to the crater. Fuego summit.
1 hours – Fuego summit / La Orqueta
4 hours – La Orqueta / Acatenango Summit
2 hour – Acatenango Summit / Yepocapa summit
5 hours – Yepocapa summit / La Soledad town

Path Description

Santa Maria de Jesus / Agua summit Half path is a wide trail, some 4x4 cars can reach this half part of the volcano. Hiking to this point is around 2-3 hours. After the dirty wide road, start in a tiny trail easy to follow. Steep sometimes. Last part is a zigzag directly to the crater. To the entrance of the crater to the crater’s rim is about 40 minutes. Summit is marked with a lot of awful towers, communication antennas.


Agua summit / Alotenango center town
This path is a highly steep downhill, lot of vegetation because is used very few times. Take care mostly of people get lost in this part. However is easy to be oriented by the highest volcanoes at background Fuego/Acatenango in a clear day.


Alotenango center town / begining path FuegoRemember, none volcanoes has facilities for travelers. Alotenango town could be the last site to buy food and find drinkable water. This is the easiest part, a plain path extended around 7-8 kilometers.

Beginning path Fuego / Fuego close that you can to the summit
Hardest part of the expedition. After the coffe’s farms coming a very long trail with great steep parts. Huge vegetation, sometimes is necessary to get down to avoid the huge quantities of roots and branches. This path is directly to the “El Mirador camp”, is not a huge camp just a tiny plain area, only place to rest from bottom to the top of Fuego Volcano.

Fuego summit
DANGEOURS AREA: The crest of Fuego extended about 1.4 kilometers to the highest point (The crater). Normally is to risky get closer, and possible a suicide to reach the rim crater. Recommended is to do half of the path. Even this way, be focus in any strange activities. Tremblings, quakes, rocks moving, smells of gases, changes in the shape of the crater and any noise.

Fuego summit / La OrquetaDownhill is in an easy path, but normally our bodies start to feel the pain and tiredness of the journey, normally 24 hours hiking without rest. La Orqueta is a plain terrain just in the middle of both volcanoes.

La Orqueta / Acatenango Summit
Second hardest part, very steep area on a sandy path. Depend of the trail you will take, sometimes is needed to take advance with an easy rock climb. Don’t forget you are in this point closer to the 4000 meters above sea level, and many hours hiking.

Acatenango summit / Yepocapa summitCrater of the volcano is a flat area about 250 mts wide in a perfect circle. Summit is marked with a cross in the highest point at north side. To get down are two different paths: north-west (La Maldita) & North-east. “La Maldita” (The Damned) correctly describing the hardest part to reach the summit from the normal route. Recommended to take the north-east path to downhill. After the plain area is the final ascent in all trip, 150 meters in sandy path. GLORIOUS FEELINGS after that!

Yepocapa summit / La Soledad town
Sometimes very steep in all trail to the botton. You will find a couple of plains terrains in the entire trail, El Conejo “The Bunny” and El Conejito “The Little Bunny”. Nice place to rest or camping.

La Soledad
If you reach this point, you’re a survivor and an awesome mountainneer.

Recomendation and other

Recommendations
Dry season is recommended to do it (mid October to mid march).
Be prepare with good hiking boots, fresh clothes to walk and warm protection, gloves, windstoper, couple of socks, sun hat, tent, sleeping bag, stove, enough food, enough water, drinks moisturizers, sun protection.

Notes
No fees, no huts, no facilities, no water, just survivors.

Images

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