Pacaya volcano and pizza adventure

Exploring the majestic landscapes of Guatemala isn’t complete without a visit to the iconic Pacaya Volcano. It is one of the country’s most active and accessible volcanoes. Its rugged, black lava fields and awe-inspiring views offer a unique adventure. But what makes this trek unforgettable is the chance to enjoy a delicious experience: pizza cooked on the volcanic rocks! Pizza on Pacaya volcano is a must-try experience.

Pacaya is one of the most active volcano in America, its last eruption was in 2021. The aftermath is still visible, you can see the petrified lava near the surrounding villages. The elevation of the volcano is 2552 meters above sea level and it is part of the Central American Volcanic Arc. The Arc is a chain of volcanoes from the northwestern part of Central America to the southeastern part along the Pacific Coast.

Pacaya is a stratovolcano. This means that it has a conical shape and is built up by many alternating layers of hardened lava and tephra (fragmental material). You can see these layers of the different eruptions on Pacaya. The type of its eruption is strombolian (named after the Stromboli volcano in Italy). This means the eruptions are small to medium in volume, with sporadic violence. For more than 50 years the volcano had many frequent and impressive eruptions.

The National Park “Pacaya Volcano and Laguna de Calderas”, where Pacaya is situated, is located approximately 40 kilometers south of Guatemala City and 18 kilometers southwest of Antigua, the former capital city of Guatemala. To reach the volcano by car you shall take the CA-9 highway. From there, you shall travel towards village San Vicente Pacaya and then San Francisco de Sales. Search for the Visitor Center and from there is the path to ascend the Pacaya Volcano.
The entrance fee for foreigners is around 100 quetzals and you must register when you enter the park and also when you exit.

Pizza Pacaya was founded by Mario David García Mansilla several years ago. Cooking on lava stone is usually a tradition where volcanoes are located nearby. The volcanic rocks retain a lot of heat. The heat distribution of lava rocks is uniform and the heat release is gradual. To enjoy your pizza on the volcanic rocks, you have to make a reservation in advance. And you always have to be accompanied by a tour guide to hike up. David will send one of his guides to aid you on your journey.

I will tell you about the hike itself below.

We were four of us, plus the guide, we met at the parking lot by the park near the entrance. Two of us came from Antigua and two of the guys came from Guatemala City. We called an InDrive driver, the other two guys an Uber. Both are approximately one hour drive to the National Park, not expensive and easily accessible. At the parking lot you can hire a wooden walking stick from locals. I think it’s not necessary (unlike by the Acatenango hike), because the ascend and descend are not difficult. If you have an average fit level you can easily accomplish it. You can also hire horses for those that are limited in movement or for children.

Our guide was humorous and told us stories about the neighbourhood and about the previous eruptions. When the last eruption happened, they were up on the volcano, but none of them were hurt, fortunately. The route isn’t too steep, the hike is fairly easy. The ascend lasted around one – one and a half hour, until we reached David and his “restaurant”. They make the pizza of your choice from the “menu”. Unfortunately (or fortunately) he no longer bake pizza on the ‘lava’. He had to move a bit from the previous place, it became dangerous to bake there, because of the toxic gases, but it’s still awesome. 

You can take a look at Pizza Pacaya IG here.

Near David’s Pacaya volcano pizza restaurant you can find the Lava Store, where a local man sells his hand made products. These products are made of hardened lava. You can buy jewelry or other tiny decorative things. They are well made and very pretty. You can support him and the locals if you buy a little something from him. The man is very friendly and grateful. The articles aren’t expensive, the prices start from around 10-20 quetzals. I bought a necklace, it is a nice memory.

If you want to go further up to the summit you have to hire another guide, because if you go to have a pizza, you will only go up until David is, and then start your descend after eating.

If you are interested, there are two authorized paths you can take, besides the point you get to Pizza Pacaya:
The La Corona Path: starting from Concepción El Cedro village and reaching Cerro Chino.

The other one is the Main trail. Departing from the visitor center you enter a sub-tropical humid forest, known as the Latifoliado Forest of San Francisco. During the hike to the summit you will see three lookouts along the trail: first the Mirador La Laguna with the view of the Lagoon of Calderas. Secondly, the Mirador Majahue, where you will have a wonderful view of the volcanoes Agua, Acatenango and Fuego. And thirdly the Mirador Los Tres Robles, where you can see the Mackenney Cone and Crater. It was named after Dr. Alfredo Mackenney, who has dedicated his life to study the volcano. Pizza Pacaya is along the main trail, but you don’t have the opportunity to hike all up to the summit.

If you want, you can combine the two trails. In approximately four hours it can be done. You can do the main trail, entering the Visitor Center in the village of San Francisco de Sales and leaving the La Corona Trail in the village Concepción El Cedro, or vice versa. Make sure to bring enough water with you, because there isn’t too many shadowy place along the way where you can hide from the blazing sun.

We came with InDrive and Uber and we didn’t have a drive back. At the bottom of the volcano usually there isn’t any driver waiting for passengers. Our guide told us we shall wait for the next chicken bus and get back to the town. So we catched the next chicken bus. The bus route was quite an experience.

The route took at least about half an hour or maybe a bit more, then we reached the CA-9 highway. There we got off from the bus, that was its last stop. From there we could call an InDrive and an Uber and got back to Antigua and Guatemala City.

The name came from the fact that these buses are usually full of people, like a truck load of chickens, or sometimes livestock is transported on these buses. Locals don’t use this expression, they find it pejorative. These buses are old school buses from the US, and are painted and colourful. The inside was a bit weathered, but relatively comfortable if not three people sit on a seat meant for two.

The people travelling on the bus try to make room for each new traveller. E.g. a woman got on the bus with her baby, but there wasn’t any more free seats for them. It wasn’t matter, another woman from two rows forward immediately took the child into her lap as the child was her own. They travelled like this until the mother got off with her child. These people were incredibly helpful and payed attention to each other. For me it was a good experience, despite the battered state of the bus.

From the volcanic landscapes to the pleasure of savoring freshly made pizza, Pacaya Volcano offers an adventure. Whether you’re drawn by the thrill of the hike, the beauty of the terrain, or the promise of a memorable meal, this destination will leave you with stories worth sharing. Don’t miss out on this incredible combination of nature and flavour when visiting Guatemala.