GUATEMALA VOLCANOES EXPEDITION AND EL MIRADOR TREKKING

DAY 1. FLIGHT TO GUATEMALA AND ARRIVAL. OLD NIGHT
Flight departure. Arrival in the afternoon at the international airport of Guatemala. Arrival. Reception and ground transfer to Antigua Guatemala (1 hour). Rest of the afternoon free in Antigua, to walk and start discovering this beautiful colonial city.

Hotel accommodation, Antigua.

DAY 2. ANTIGUA – PACAYA VOLCANO
Breakfast.

In the morning we will make a guided visit to the city of Antigua, a colonial architectural jewel of Guatemala and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. It currently has about 30,000 inhabitants and is located in the beautiful Panchoy valley, surrounded by three majestic volcanoes (Water, Fire and Acatenango). We will walk through its cobbled streets through the most emblematic corners of the city such as the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral, the Town Hall, the Fountain of the Sirens, Posada de Don Rodrigo, the Arco de Santa Catalina and the Merced convent. After lunch, we will head southeast through coffee and crop fields until arriving in 1 hour at the foot of the Pacaya volcano (2,552 m). Pacaya is one of the most active volcanoes in the country, next to Fuego and Santiaguito. Nowadays it is a tourist attraction although the incandescent lava flows can no longer be observed, as they were years ago. You can take a walk through the sector to see the volcano and its ancient formations and solidified lava flows. Around 8:00 p.m. we will start the way back to Antigua.

Hotel accommodation, Antigua.

DAY 3. ANTIGUA – ACATENANGO
Breakfast food.

Our private vehicle will pick us up at the hotel and we will begin the approach to the mountain. To get there you must travel from La Antigua Guatemala to Ciudad Vieja and from there; take the road to San José Calderas and La Soledad, where the walk begins at a height of 2400 meters. The first hour of walking will be done through fields of beans and corn until we enter a forest area (elevation 2800 m), with spectacular moss-covered trees. Here the trail is steeper and zigzags in some sections until you come out to a more sparsely vegetated area at 3,200 meters above sea level. In front of us is the uniform slope that will take us to the antecima, also known as Yepocapa peak (3,830 m). From the antecima we will already see the section of ascent that we have left to cover. A small descent to a hill formed by the eroded crater of the volcano and a last ascent of about 200 meters of elevation will take us to the top of the third highest mountain in the country. Superb panoramic view from the summit, the entire plateau at our feet, the Fuego and Agua volcanoes, the city of Antigua and on clear days we can see the Pacific Ocean. We will set up camp very close to the summit in a field of volcanic sand. In this way we can enjoy the sunset at the summit and the collection of lights from the cities and towns that are at our feet.

Total ascent: + 1,650 m (7 hours).
Accommodation in tents, Acatenango.

DAY 4. ACATENANGO VOLCANO(3.976 m) – PANAJACHEL
Breakfast.

In the morning we will enjoy the sunrise at the top of the volcano, we will have breakfast and descend along the same path to La Soledad where the vehicle will wait for us to return to Antigua. There we will take a bus to Panajachel (3 h). Arrival in the capital of Lake Atitlán.

Hotel accommodation, Panajachel.

DAY 5. ATITLÁN LAKE- QUEZALTENANGO
Breakfast.

Today we will take a boat tour of the different towns and communities on the shores of the lake. We will visit San Juan, San Pedro and Santiago. In these towns we will be able to observe the indigenous people in their typical costumes, visit the local markets and soak up the peace and tranquility of this place in the highlands in the shadow of the imposing Atitlán volcanoes (3,537 m), Tolimán (3,158 m) and San Pedro (3,020 m). In the afternoon we will leave for Quezaltenango where we will spend the night.

Hotel accommodation, Quezaltenango.

DAY 6. QUEZALTENANGO – SANTIAGUITO – GEORGIN FOUNTAIN – SAN MARCOS
Breakfast

In the morning we will take a spectacular walk to the viewpoint of the Santiaguito volcano. Our march will begin on the 2,300 m and our objective will be located on the 2,800 m. It will take about 2 hours of walking to reach the viewpoint, where we can observe the eruptions of the Santiaguito volcano every 20 minutes, the most active crater of the Santa María volcanic complex. At noon, after the walk we will stay in the forests of the sector doing a bird watching tour. This area has great biodiversity with more than 150 species of birds, some of them endemic to Guatemala. In the afternoon we will go to the famous Georginas fountains, located on the outskirts of the town of Zunil. Here we will rest bathing in its hot springs among a subtropical forest landscape. In the afternoon, 1h30 trip to San Marcos.

Hotel accommodation, San Marcos.

DAY 7. TAJUMULCO VOLCANO (4.220 M) – QUEZALTENANGO
Breakfast food.

We will leave San Marcos at midnight, to drive about 2 hours through the communities of San Sebastián and Tuichán, to the starting point of the ascent on foot located at about 3,050 m above sea level. The direct ascent to the summit that will take us about 4 hours (unevenness 1,150 m). There we will observe the sunrise and the sunrise behind the Guatemalan volcanic chain. On a clear day we will see the great volcanoes and also the second highest mountain in the country, the Tacaná. Return the same way to the vehicle, return to San Marcos and drive at noon to Quezaltenango. Free afternoon to rest.

Hotel accommodation, Quezaltenango.

DAY 8. QUEZALTENANGO – DULCE RIVER – FLORES
Breakfast.

Travel day between the Guatemalan highlands and the Petén region. Halfway we will make a stop in Río Dulce, where we will visit Finca Paraíso and we can bathe and relax for a while in its river and waterfall of hot springs. Arrival in Flores, capital of the Petén region and located on the shores of Lake Petén Itzá, in the late afternoon.

Hotel accommodation, Flores.

DAY 9. FLORES – TIKAL – FLORES
Breakfast.

We will leave Flores in the morning, without a doubt, one of the star days of the trip, the day you visit Tikal, the great city of the Mayans, located in the Petén jungle and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tikal was born around 2000 B.C. and its peak came in the classical period, at which time it had up to 100,000 inhabitants. Archaeologists have discovered that from 292 AD to 792 AD 29 sovereigns reigned in Tikal, it was the last three who greatly enlarged the city, the largest temples were built in that period (7th and 8th centuries). Tikal is made up of more than 10,000 structures, many of them superimposed on each other in an area of ​​16 km2. Squares, temples, pyramids, palaces, steam baths, ball games, rooms, water reservoirs and even original wooden lintels. But Tikal is not only archeology, it is also flora and fauna, which complement this beautiful visit: howler monkeys, toucans, coatis, spider monkeys, tropical birds, jungle foxes, etc., are frequently seen among the hundreds of centuries-old tree species that make up the tropical forest of the Petén jungle. Once the visit to Tikal is finished we will return to Flores.

Hotel accommodation, Flores.

DAY 10. FLORES – CARMELITA. BEGINNING OF THE TREKKING TO EL MIRADOR: CARMELITA – EL TINTAL
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

After breakfast we will travel by road to the heart of the Petén jungle. 82 km separate Flores from the Carmelita community. Here we will prepare the luggage, load it on horses or mules and depart for the north on a walk of about 6 hours and 17 km away. In the middle of the afternoon you will arrive at the archaeological site of El Tintal, where we will camp for the night. In the Tintal a total of 850 Mayan structures have been found and in the vicinity there is a panoramic point of the Eneken from where, if the day is clear, the Dante Pyramid of El Mirador can be seen on the horizon.

Accommodation in tents, El Tintal.

DAY 11. TREKKING TO EL MIRADOR: EL TINTAL – EL MIRADOR
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Our second day of walking will take us to cover a distance of 23 km until we reach El Mirador. On the way we will walk through the dense jungle of Petén, sighting all kinds of fauna and flora, as well as a complex of Mayan trenches and the small archaeological site of La Muerta. The total walk about 7 hours. Overnight next to the ruins of El Mirador.

Accommodation in tents, El Mirador.

DAY 12. TREKKING TO EL MIRADOR: VISIT TO EL MIRADOR
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day to explore El Mirador, discover its corners, walk in the surroundings. El Mirador was one of the largest pre-Hispanic cities in pre-Columbian America and flourished becoming one of the most important commercial points in the Pre-Classic Maya period. Some archaeologists claim the Mirador was the first great Mayan City between the centuries 200AC and 150AD. This territory has not been explored and studied in depth, scarcely thirty years ago the first archaeological investigations began in the area. The main complex of buildings in the city covers about 2 km2 and many of them were built on a large scale.

The El Tigre Complex stands out among all, which is an incredible structure whose base measures one hundred and fifty square meters; six times larger than that of Temple IV in Tikal and reaches a height of fifty-five meters. Only two kilometers away is the most imposing of all: The La Danta Complex, which has a base platform of three hundred square meters and seven meters high. A series of buildings are built on the Danta. The platform that follows it rises another seven meters and then on this there is another platform twenty-one meters high on whose top we see three pyramids. The most curable reaches 21 meters. The total height of this entire structure that we have described is an impressive seventy meters, much more than Temple IV in Tikal and the highest built by the Mayans.

Accommodation in tents, El Mirador.

DAY 13. TREKKING TO EL MIRADOR: EL MIRADOR – EL NACIMIENTO
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

After the day of visiting El Mirador, today we will begin the return to Carmelita. For that we will take another path that will take us east, crossing the Petén jungle until we reach the Nacimiento River. Next to the river, in an area suitable for swimming, we will set up our camp. 5 hours – 15 km.

Accommodation in tents, El Nacimiento.

DAY 14. TREKKING TO EL MIRADOR: EL NACIMIENTO – CARMELITAS. BACK TO FLORES
Breakfast food.

Last day of our trekking. We will make a long journey through the jungle of about 25 km until we reach the village of Carmelitas again. Here our vehicle will be waiting for us to take us back to the city of Flores.

Hotel accommodation, Flores.

DAY 15. FLORES FLIGHT – GUATEMALA CITY. CONNECTION WITH THE FLIGHT TO OUR CITY OF ORIGIN
Breakfast.

At the agreed time, transfer to the Flores airport to take the flight back to the capital. Arrival, waiting time and boarding of the flight back home.

DAY 16. ARRIVAL IN OUR CITY OF ORIGIN