The Volcanos

There are four major volcanos in Antigua - Pacaya, Agua, Fuego, and Acatanengo.

Agua is the largest and the one closest to Antigua. It once had a caldera (crater lake) at the top of it. One day in the 1500's, the side of the Crater collapsed and flooded the villages below, hence how it got named Agua, meaning water. It is extinct.

Pacaya, the one we hiked, was dormont for over 70 years but has erupted numerous times since 1961. The lava field we hiked through was from the 2010 eruption.

Fuego , meaning fire, is an active volcano that erupts fairly often as far as volcanos go. The last eruption was on June of 2025 with 5 other eruptions dating back to 2018. It is known for being constantly active at low levels. It emits puffs of smoke every 20-30 minutes. Sometimes at night you can glimpse the red lava spewing out.

Acatanengo is next to Fuego in the same range. It is dormont and taller than Fuego. It is popular for a challenging overnight hike that gets great views of the erupting activity taking place on Fuego. For the younger crowd or those extremely physically fit, this is a highlight of visiting here. Along with a physical hike with step incline, the temperatures change drastically. The hikers hike to a base camp where they spend the night and then before dawn, hike farther up to get the views of spewing lava from Fuego. Supposedly the views are worth it. We will never know personally.

We can see Agua, Fuego and Acatanengo from our rooftop and from most places in Antigua. Pacaya sits behind Agua, on the side opposite of Antigua.

Guatamala sits on several tectonic plates causing tremors or small earthquakes (and the volcano activity) all of the time. Most of the tremors cannot be felt. However, one of our guides told us that they can be felt 3-4 times a month. One night, for some strange reason, both of us were awake around 1:00 am and we felt a tremor. Our beds shook and the windows rattled for about 20-30 seconds. It wasn't really scary but it was a reality check.Læs mere