Today we have a very interesting plan: we’re going to hike theSanta María volcano from Quetzaltenango, city also known as Xela. From the top, we heard you can overlook a smaller volcano called Santiaguito which sometimes during the day erupts for a short time. Hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to see it in action! The idea is to hike without a guide, since the path is available on maps.me and not that difficult to follow (just have to remember a couple of important turns).
On various blogs, forums and even after asking locals we’ve collected so many information on where to turn and where not to that we’re ready for this. Keep reading to know how we managed to get on the top!
First of all, we book a taxi the day before to come and pick us up at 5am so that we start the hike as early as the sun goes up. For just 60Q, the taxi driver punctually meet us (and our bags full of snacks and water) in front of our hostel Casa Seibel. The ride to Llano del Pinal, the small village where the hike starts from, takes just about 30min with the last part of road being a bit rough. Taxing a taxi might not be the cheapest option but if you want to start earlier than 6.45am (that’s when the first chicken bus enters town) and avoid seeing clouds on the top of the volcano, this is the only way. Also, the taxi can leave you literally straight in front of the path, whereas the bus will leave you into town from which you’ll have to walk until the path start.
At exactly 5.30am we start our hike to the top of Santa Maria Volcano. There’s still not enough light to see but thanks to our flashlights we manage take a left on the first junction we read we were going to find just after 15min of walking. Not long after the junction, we also find a drunk man chilling in the dark. Definitely a weird encounter! Luckily, at the beginning of a very steep rocky wall we also meet a whole family which is also climbing to the top of the volcano. They tell us that they’re bringing some offerings to God so that the new year could bring them happiness and joy. We ask if we can tail them to see the right path and they happily agree. Well, as you might guess, local people usually don’t take the “touristy” path…Yep, we repeatedly cross through the forest, take shortcuts, take a left, a right. Crazy! (Amazingly enough, the family tell us that the normal path is longer but easier to take or follow…) Eventually, we get back on the main path and by 6.15am we reach what it’s known by everyone as La Meseta, a grassy patch which marks the “real” base of the volcano. This is where we take our first 5min stop. As the family keeps walking (the pace of the kids and grandparents made us feel weak!), we get told that from now on finding the right path will be easy. See you on on the top then!
From the meseta, you’ll need to turn right and keep walking until the top of the volcano (see above). Pretty simple uh ! With the sun finally rising, the landscape starts to change drastically; what was a dark unwelcoming path becomes a path with the most breathtaking views ever! Arrows, painted signs or rocks, all leading in the same direction: Up!
The last part of the path is tougher than expected. With a height of 3772 meters, you can literally feel the Santa Maria volcano in your muscles. Eventually, after a good bunch of stop we manage to reach our objective ¡¡¡¡We made it!!!!
But on the top we’re not the only ones! We say hello to a group of 20 women getting ready for a group prayer, have a chat we a some people preparing a ritual and eventually sit down on the furthest left bit of the volcano top from which we can overview the beautiful Santiaguito. Was the top clouded? Well, it was probably one of the best days of the year as we couldn’t even see a single cloud in the sky! The incredible landscapes in front of us are nothing but ready to be enjoyed.
We take photographs, videos and eat our well-deserved snacks under a warm morning sun. In the meanwhile, the Santiaguito keeps us entertained with small buffs every couple of minutes. People on the top have confirmed that roughly every 2hrs it makes a big explosion but its already 10.25am and nothing has been really going on…maybe we got here too late? In a matter of seconds, the Santiaguito leaves us speechless: at exactly 10.30am it erupts! We don’t see lava or things like that but the smoke that comes up form the main crater is simply unbelievable! And the sound seems like a jet is passing just on top of us!
Happy for having decided to stay a little more to see this amazing spectacle of nature, we head back to where the people making the ritual were. Kids lighting up candles, the men sacrificing a lamb and the prayers of the women resonating nearby. What an amazing show that the Volcan Santa Maria has prepared for us today!
At 11.20am, we start our descent and by 1pm we’re already having a break at the meseta. Back on walking and not long after we’re back where we started in Llano del Pinal: definitely a different town during daytime! Luckily, we just have enough time to grab a cold water and hop on a bus heading toward Xela.
By 1.50pm we’re already back at the hostel, tired but satisfied. It was a unique experience that we would suggest to anybody looking for an adventurous day out! Having a guide is not necessary, surely you’ll make it to the top like we did!!!
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