Santa María Volcano

Santa María is the great volcano that watches over Quetzaltenango, a near-perfect cone rising to 3,772 metres south of the city. The climb is one of the classic highland hikes in Guatemala — demanding (you gain over 1,500 metres from the trailhead), rewarding (the view from the summit on a clear morning takes in Santiaguito's lava dome below, the Pacific coastal plain, and dozens of other volcanoes), and logistically straightforward. Most hikers set off from the village of Llanos del Pinal before dawn to be at the summit by sunrise.

The real show on a clear morning is watching Santiaguito — the active lava dome in Santa María's 1902 eruption crater — vent and occasionally explode far below. Small ash plumes rise from the dome with regularity. The dome has been erupting continuously since 1922, one of the longest-running eruptions on Earth.

Several guide agencies in Quetzaltenango run Santa María hikes; going without a guide is possible but not recommended, as the trail passes through some isolated areas.

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The 1902 eruption of Santa María was one of the three largest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, ejecting an estimated 8 cubic kilometres of rock and ash. The explosion was heard as far away as Costa Rica. The eruption wiped out coffee plantations across the western highlands and killed thousands of people — the final death toll has never been accurately established. The lava dome that grew in the eruption's aftermath, Santiaguito, remains active and can be seen erupting from the summit of Santa María with small explosions occurring regularly.