Antigua Mountain Trail — Attraction in Sacatepéquez

Oh, this is a nice place to be. So, there is a short trail about 30mins of hiking: at first upwards and then through a damp forest gully. At the end of this first trail there are 2 signs. One says SALIDA, the other MONTAÑA. I chose the mysterious montaña. Turns out that is El Cucurucho! The road heads up and up and up and up... There is minimal signage, the numbers mean how many km up u r. Somewhere up there, there is a lookout point from which u can see Atitlán & Cuidad Guatemala (which I did not reach bc it was getting late & I wanted to head down before it got dark) It's a relaxed 1 day trip up to the summit of El Cucurucho and back down. The entrance fee is about 60Q... or cheaper if u just want to go for a dip in the pools. You can walk to the entrance from downtown Antigua or take a bus or taxi. If u r looking for fresh air, solitude and trees ... This will do the trick 💚 I did this hike by myself, a woman, although I speak fluent Spanish. I felt relatively safe. And even got a ride back down with the people...

This is a strange place. But for certain kinds of person it’s worth the fifteen minute Uber from Antigua town centre. Type one: keen swimmers who like a heated pool to swim lengths in. Type two: walkers who enjoy climbing dozens of stairs because they see them as friends. And like the view from the top. Type three: gardeners who’re fascinated by jungle plants and their often symbiotic relationships. Type four: photographers who see interesting shapes in the walkways, covered bridges, and staircases as they wend their way through the greenery. Type five: the curious who wonder who put this all together and why? Is the quarry which scars the hillside the engine which drives it? If so why is there an air of dilapidation? Is the very grand house next door the owner of the whole thing? And is the village in effect a company one? All things to be looked up online in due course. Or better beforehand now that...

Beware extra fees for hiking! We planned to use the swimming pool and do some hiking. We paid 15 GQT to enter the place. We swam in the nice cool pool area. After a dip, we started our hike. In the middle of our hike, somebody on a motorcycle with a gun stopped us and demanded 80 GQT, we didn't know that we have to pay extra to hike. We only had a note of 100 GQT. The guy had no change and no tickets. He herded us from the trail, back to the pool area. Disappointing experience, we would have gladly paid the entrance fee, but it wasn't displayed anywhere. When we were back there was no time left to...