I was invited many times to climb this volcano known as “Agua” or “Water Volcano”. I read somewhere it is one of nature best pieces of art being its shape almost perfect. I thought it was just a touristic exaggeration but lucky me: I was wrong.

This beauty is real. The name “Water Volcano” or “Volcan de Agua” is because in time of the Spanish Colonization the constant rain caused a flood which destroyed most of the city of Antigua Guatemala. But those days, it was the main city of Guatemala “Santiago de los Caballeros”.

So, obviously a volcano doesn’t “erupt water”, but the amount of water coming from this one gave it the name it keeps to this days. When you climb it you can see the traces left by the amount of water coming down.

So I finally accepted (but that’s another story), what you see here is the view of the volcano from the summit of Acatenango, the great Acatenango!. From here I was able to see the amazing shape and magnificence of the Hunapú.

Want to climb the great Hunapú?

This volcano is located near La Antigua Guatemala. From this city, go directly to “Santa María de Jesús”, right next to the market and church is where you sign a book before beginning the ascent. They suppose to keep a record of how many people visit the volcano, and also, for security reasons… from time to time adventurous tourist go alone and get lost… so this way they know when is been too long since somebody signed the book… and they go to the rescue.

Anyway, the ascent is pretty easy if you are in general good physical condition. I was invited by some local friends who go there every year as a personal tradition.

If you want a tour you can request it at one of the many many tour agencies located in La Antigua. There is at least one on every block.

BTW, Hunapú is the name of one of the main characters of the Popol Vuh. This traditional book compared or referred to as the “bible of the mayas” begins with the creation of life, giving birth to Hunapú and Ixbalanqué (brothers). Gosh, the view from Acatenango is just amazing.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Volcanoes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.