Antigua Guatemala Travel Answers

The horses are not going all the way up to where you can see the lava and the last bit can be hard for the children. Look at the second photo in this travelogue: "Vulcán Pacaya" - Antigua Guatemala Travelogue by MalenaN There were kids in another group when I visited but they were not as young as 6 and 8. The rooks the last bit can be very sharp and slippery so it is good to have long sleeves and pants with long legs, and even gloves, for protection. The lava can change direction and is not always seen at the same point. You better ask the tour agents who have more experience if they think the children are old enough.

are the kids fit and active? it is a very popular hike and not too long, but it is steep at the end. the horses/mules can help you for most of it, no problem.

not to the tippy top where the lava is but close enough to see the flow. They will most definatly need a horse and you might too. bring a flashlight and gloves. I would really think aobut bringing up kids that young the descent is in the night time. and it is very dark. I think this hick is a little harder then you relize. I just got back. We climbed it. it was grueling, but then again when I was in my 20's I did it 4 times and there was no driving half way up or horses back then. :) have fun Holly

It was a difficult climb for us being late 50's, but we made it along with the youngsters. I know we would never do another volcano climb for various reasons mostly concerning safety. We were stepping over cracks that were glowing red...you could smell burning tennis shoes. Three men in shorts with bloody legs from the crushed lava had a tough time, too. There were people roasting marshmallows in the cracks! Interesting? Yes. Dangerous? Very. Then there was the return down the volcano. Our guide left nine of us behind to find our own way down in the dark. Fortunately, most had flashlights. It's a risky environment for adults...many things can go wrong.

It depends a lot on the activity at the time you are there. You would imagine you could take horses up most of the way to the ash cone at the top. This would save you a long walk, though my 76 year old father walked up with us on my last visit without any problems. From this point you will be able to see the cold, solid lava flow, or if you are very lucky you might get a chance to see it flowing with liquid lava. While living in El Salvador I saw amazing footage of the flows on TV and went across in the hope of seeing it. It was all black and solid when we arrived (though clearly still hot underneath) and we spoke to an expat living in nearby Antigua who had tried 5 times to see the flow without success. The last walk up the ash cone is very difficult. It is very steep and for every two footsteps you take upwards, you slide one step back. However, if your kids have gone most of the way by horse the last bit might be hard work but good fun. On both of my visits (arranged with guys in the main plaza of Antigua) we were up and back long before it got dark. On neither occasion was it at all dangerous, but that might change a lot depending on the amount of activity and the time of day you go. I believe that there occasionally robberies there as well, but on my visits there were so many people around with guides that I didn't consider it a big risk. Tom