Day 2

On the second day we depart at 7:00am and continue descending for about 30 minutes until we arrive at the Nahualate River, situated at an altitude of 1400m.  The second day is considered to be the most difficult one. The ascent starts at an altitude of 1400m and reaches 3100m at the peak called Cumbre de Alaska.  Between 12:00 and 13:00, about half the way to the top, we will stop for lunch.  After a well-deserved break, we continue ascending for about 3 to 4 hours.  The next part takes about 3 more hours of trekking until the peak Alaska is reached, a place where we will spend the night.
(As usual in case of trekking the duration of the trip can vary depending on the physical condition of the participants. The amount of time taken by each part of the trek can be shorter but never longer.)

Day 3

After the breakfast, we start the 3rd day of hiking.  With some of the best landscapes of the whole trek, the day consists of 6 to 8 hours of hiking but it is considerably less difficult than the day before.  From an altitude of 3100m we head towards Alcanzaf, the peak of the Volcano Zunil (3542m).  From the peak it is possible to see a total of 14 volcanoes! With a single turn of the head one can see an amazing panorama of volcanoes, from Volcano Tacana at the Mexican border to the Volcano Agua in Antigua Guatemala as well as the Quetzaltenango Valley, Xela, the Atitlan Lake and the active Volcano Santiaguito.  After the long break at Zunil, we will continue the trip descending on rocky terrain.  Next, we will follow a trail to a place where we will spend the night, passing a humid jungle and going through a bamboo forest.  Here we can relax in hot springs called Fuentes Georginas (2400m) regaining energy for the next day.

Day 4

We start the day with breakfast at 7 o’clock.  Here we have to gather supplies of food and water for the next few days.  We leave from the altitude of 2400m descending to 1800m. We will pass the part of the route leading to the southern coast and will start ascending again until we arrive in a place called Las Majadas.  From there we will find the route leading to the Volcano Santa Maria.  After about 4 hours of hiking we will reach a place called La Meceta (2900m) where we will camp overnight.  If the weather is favorable, we can ascend to the top of the volcano the same day or, if the weather is bad, the following day.  The ascent takes about 3 hours.

Day 5 

If we climbed the volcano Santa Maria the day before, this day we can leave the camping site at 7:00am.  In the case that we had not done it, we have a very long day ahead, waking up as early as at 4:00am.  In this case we leave the campsite at 10:00am heading towards the Volcano Siete Orejas (3100m), where we probably will stay overnight.
(In case we reached the Volcano Santa Maria the day before, we could advance the same day to the final destination – La Laguna de Chicabal, where we would stay overnight)

Day 6 

On the 6th day we wake up very early again.  We have just slept in a place, which indigenous people of the San Martin Sacatepeques or San Martin Chile Verde region have known for centuries as La Laguna Seca.  From there we leave for the crater of the lagoon, walking for about 45 minutes, to finally arrive at El Mirador - a point from which we get a clear view of the Volcano Santa Maria and Volcano Santiaguito.  From there will go down for a little trip inside the crater around the La Laguna de Chicabal. Back at the place we stayed overnight we can have a breakfast, waiting for transportation back to Quetzaltenango.  For the night in Xela you can choose a hotel at which you wish to stay and you have the afternoon free to relax and prepare yourself for the next day.

Day 7 We leave Quetzaltenango for Volcano Tajamulco (4220m) at 6:00am.  First we travel by car to the Minerva Terminal, from which we will depart by a public bus to Tajamulco. The trip will take 2 hours.
The trek starts about 10am. The starting point is situated at the altitude of 2995m. The ascent takes 4 hours.  The destination is a camping base 4000m above sea level.           

End of the 7th dayThe ascent to Volcano Tajamulco can be done in one day. To make it possible we would have to leave Xela at 3:30 in the morning to start the trek at about 5:30 and finish the entire trip in 7 days.  In this case we would be back in Xela at about 3pm.

Day 8

We wake up very early in the morning, 4:30am, to climb the last part of the volcano (220m more) to see the sunrise. After that we go down to the camp to pick up the equipment to begin the final descent.  The final stretch takes about 3 hours to the point where we will be picked up and transported back to Xela.

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