Although I didn’t come to Central America thinking I would hike volcanoes, I discovered that there are many opportunities, and it’s the perfect way to get my fix on outdoor sports activities. Plus, it’s kind of cool to climb a volcano, especially an active one. When I was in León a couple of weeks ago, I went on another 2-day volcano hike. This time the hike included 3 volcanoes. The first volcano Cerro Negro was not a strenuous hike, but the big adventure was volcano-boarding down. And yes, volcano-boarding is just like snowboarding except you have a lot less control to steer your board and if you fall you may end up with black volcano pebbles embedded in your skin (I saw two people come back to my hostel with some bad injuries). Just so everyone knows how awesome I am, I was the only one who stood up on the board instead of sitting.
After Cerro Negro, there was a strenuous climb to the top of El Hoyo where we watched the sunset and camped out under a billion stars. And on the second day, we descended El Hoyo and climbed around the third volcano Asososca where we swam in the refreshingly cool Laguna Asososca and had a picnic lunch.
This is the second big volcano hike I’ve done in Ce
ntral America, and I’ve been here for about 2 months. I have met other travelers that seem as if they are trying to hike every volcano possible. In Antigua, there were two twin brothers from the US probably in their 40s who take a 1-month trip somewhere every year. They have been all over the world. They came to Central America, in their words, “to climb volcanoes.”
On my most recent trek, there was an Australian couple who, just two days prior to leaving for this hike, had finished the two-day hike of Telica, another option near León. I could not imagine a strenuous 2-day hike with one day of rest followed by another strenuous 2-day hike. But it seems that volcano hiking is a new adventure tourism niche for Central America. There are tons of companies that specialize in these hikes and provide all of the gear you need, including packs, sleeping bags, tents, cold-weather clothing, food, and sometimes a machete-wielding security guard. So if volcano hiking seems like you’re type of adventure, plan your next trip to Central America.
Check out photos of my Triple Volcano Hike, including volcano boarding, near León. Note that I ran into a traveler and blogger I originally met in Antigua, and he filmed a video of volcano boarding. I will send out a link as soon as it’s posted.
Click here to see photos of the lively university city of León.
very nice
do you camp near by or do you go back to hostel come evening??
lovely pics of landscape
keep them coming, again very nice
ciao
You can decide to do 1-day tours or multi-day tours where you camp on the volcano. I’ve done two 2-day tours that involved camping. It’s definitely hard though because the day after climbing a volcano, the last thing you want to do is hike some more. But I think you get the best views when you do the longer hikes.
Volcano hiking is definitely a Central American thing, I actually got volcano fatigue – like how others get cathedral fatigue in Europe – and couldn’t bear to do another after my 4th hike.
Love it! Yes you are awesome to surf it standing. I will be in Leon Monday night and should be ready for another volcano trek by then. Been enjoying El Zonte the last few days. What’s the name of the tour company you used?
Volcano is one of the wonders of nature where you can appreciate its beauty if its calm but it is very terrifying if its angry.
Julie Hayes recently posted..קייטרינג לבית
Excellent post. Trekking is a great way to explore a country and see a different perspective other than food stands and the general populous. I have been lucky to go on some great treks in Asia and would love to try this in South America as well.
Kurt W recently posted..Trekking Snow Mountain (雪山)