Volcan Pocaya
by Tracy Adams
Click any picture to see a larger view
The steaming Volcan Pacaya, a little over an hour drive from Guatemala City, is one of Central America's liveliest volcanoes.
At 2552 meters, it is nice hike and some good exercise. It used to be extremely dangerous to be on the volcano because of the
robberies, rapes, firefights and murders. However, this drastically improved since it was declared
a national park and security guards were added to monitor the area. Now, in January 2004, it is
a reasonable safe place to climb.
Pacaya erupted in 1961 after over 100 years of dormancy. It consinously
fumes steam and occasionally throws ash, sand, and lava from its cone. In 1998, Guatemala's
City's Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora was closed due to ash from Pacaya.
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The journey begins in the small town of San Franscico, Guatemala:
First, visit the small visitor center at the starting point. Here, you may a small fee, sign in to record you are hiking,
and perhaps hire a guide to help you up the Volcano. By the end, our guide was carrying most of our
backpacks and water and as well worth the price!
The first part of the journey is to the base of the volcano. You first follow an extremely steep concrete path and then the terrain gets
slightly easier. Along the way, you view farm fields and views of the mountain above and the valley below. You also pass a few security guards.
When you get to the base, you can rest, take some pictures, admire the steam coming from the volcano, ....
and contemplate if you really want to go up to the crater....
Right before the major effort, you can read the notes and names people wrote using pieces of lava.
The last part of the hike is extremely tough. 20 steps, rest, 20 steps, rest, 20 steps, sit down, 20 steps...
and then, victory!
The covering of dried lava pieces is deep and the slope is very steep, so on the way down, you "ski" down
the mountain. You place one foot in front of the other, and as it you foot sinks into the lava, you sink
lower and lower down the slope. On the right, you see my feet sinking into the lava.
Tracy Adams - teadams@alum.mit.edu