Parking at Volcan Chicabal | Informal Campsite

Guatemala

Details

Verified:
4 months ago
Altitude:
2541.0 masl
Website:
None
Contributor:
abenteuertour.de

Amenities

Electricity:
No
Wifi:
No
Kitchen:
No
Restaurant:
No
Showers:
No
Water:
Unknown
Toilets:
Pit Toilets
Big Rig Friendly:
Unknown
Tent Friendly:
Unknown
Pet Friendly:
Unknown

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Description

On the way to the vulcano you have to drive on a gravel road with more than 20 grade. You could go further up to the volcano which we avoided due to the muddy road and therefore spent the night on the first gravel parking lot. The night was very quiet.

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We spent the night here after the hike to the Chicabal volcano. The gravel road to the entrance to the national park is very steep and it was raining lightly that day, so everything was wet. If the weather was good it might be possible, but we decided against driving our 7m long Sprinter up with only 2WD. You have a nice view over the valley from here and the night was very quiet. We paid 30Q for 2 people and the van.

IG: compasschronicle

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To clarify the little confusion here, I have attached a sketch that clearly outlines what options are available to the overlanders at sites identied as "Parking at Volcan Chicabal"  and "Lake Chicabal - NO SWIMMING" depending upon the type of vehicle that you are driving. 

If you are driving a 4x4 you can drive and park your vehicle at  the new site that I have added to ioverlander called "Mirador de Laguna de Chicabal" The only limation here is that there is limited parking and you may not have space to park here. I came here during the wet season, so I was all by myself so parking for the night was not an issue. I decided not to park because  there were too many mosquitoes and no bathrooms were available. It was not worth it for me to deal with those in my RTT. So after hiking down to the laguna and seeing it, I decide to campout at the site "Lake Chicabal - No SWIMMING". This is where you buy tickets, there is a soccer field and bathrooms are available to you.  

At Mirador Chicabal you have the option to take ~500 steps down to the Laguna  or hike the new Sanderos (trail) down. So I took the steps down and hiked up to mirador taking ne w Sanderos to save my old knees. Keep in mind it is very step grade down to the lake. Photos attached for your convenience.

I hope the sketch clarifies everything.

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The road to get to the main entrance is really doable without a 4WD if going slowly (We did it with an astro van). Just don't go if it's rainy. Otherwise, you'll have to pay 100q for a 5min ride...

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As described. Now 30q for a van. If you want to go to chicabal, I would recommend to stay here as the road afterwards is steep and quite slippery. Saw a AWD car barely getting up with fuming tires. Only go further with 4WD. Sleeping at the entrance of the Nationalpark is way nicer though.

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Tienda with parking just before the dirt road to the entrance of Lake Chickabal.
Paid 20Q to spend the night. Awesome view over the valley and over Quetzaltenango.

The last part of the road is 1,5km of dirt road and cobblestones, and is very steep. You need a car with high clearance and a good suspension. Preferably 4x4.

Be careful when traveling in the rainy season, We had a night full of rain and the cobblestones were very wet and slippery in the morning.. even for walking!
Would definitely not recommend to drive up or down after a big rain, so plan your arrival carefully.

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On the way to the vulcano you have to drive on a gravel road with more than 20 grade. You could go further up to the volcano which we avoided due to the muddy road and therefore spent the night on the first gravel parking lot. The night was very quiet.

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