So, after reading a few trip advisor reviews we were aware of the potential of being robbed during this trek. We didnt bring anything of value with us (thank god).
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Me and my partner payed 100Q each at the beginning of the trail near the base of the volcanoe at the tourist office. We signed the sign in book and was given a general explanation of the nature trail. No one at the desk warned us that they may be potential robbers near the top.
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The trail itself was well maintained and easily marked. The first 2 points on the trail (the 1st Mirador view and the swing) had some lovely views and was a great place to relax after the steep path upwards. I would recommend that if you really wanted to do the volcanoe just stick to these 2 points and come back down after as the robbers are waiting near the peak.
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When we made it to the camp, 10 mins from the summet, three American lads were coming towards us and told us how they were robbed by 3 guys in masks with guns and machetes. They had stolen their bags, all their phones, their money, and even one of their professional cameras. The men had been extremely aggressive, poking the gun violently into their backs and shouting at them. They had even pushed one of the American lads over and stole his shoes....crazy.
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I honestly think that this is some kind of scam they have going on with the ticket office. We had been told that the robbers are only there when the weather is good and sunny because there is guaranteed to be tourists. We went when the wheather was rainy and cloudy. Barely anyone had signed the sign in book that day. The only way the robbers could have known is if someone had told them in advance that ppl were going up. Also the ticket office was conveniently closed when we got back down the mountain. If your paying 100Q each for a trail, you expect it to be safe. Also, if this is such a common thing, why does the ticket office not do something about it, why not ring the police? It's hard to believe that they're not involved.
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In summary, it is such a shame that these robberies has happened numerous times as this trail is lovely with nice views and it puts such a bad light on San Pedro. All the locals in San Pedro are so nice and kind and it really annoys me that 3 idiot's ruin people's experience here.

Writing this review to warn people of potential robbers on the trail / at the summit. We tried to hike this today (mid April 2021) and were stopped at the first viewpoint at 2173 masl by 2 armed policemen who warned us about robberies on the the trail.

Soon after, a couple came down the trail saying they didn't make it to the top because someone had been assaulted there. An elderly gentleman came down a few minutes after them, and told the police he had been robbed at gunpoint by two people at the peak. Two girls who had accompanied him also had not come down the trail, and he was concerned for their safety, especially given the presence of robbers on the trail.

The police and several other guards / park officials headed off to look for them, while we accompanied the gentleman down. He also told us that he had been robbed 2 years prior by the same pair of robbers. When we arrived at the Trailhead, the park official there said that the problem of robbers is a serious one and has been ongoing for years. The policemen we spoke with also indicated that the guides of the park were working in tandem to rob tourists who were going up without a guide, but it appeared that people with guides had also been robbed. When we left, the police was still searching for the two girls on the trail.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you have a guide or not, if you are accompanied by police or not - you may still get robbed. Go at your own risk but personally I would not recommend it at all.

Foreigners also have to pay an entrance fee of 100Q, nationals 50Q. Not worth it if you're going to get robbed anyway.

Volcan San Pedro is a good, strenuous hike that is worth the effort. My review/expeirence is from during the pandemic and will likely not apply for later times and is designed for people who want to do the hike without a guide.

I have been up to the top 3 times (and a couple of times to the lower miradors) during the months of February and March 2021. (DRY SEASON).

The Different Thing about doing San Pedro during the pandemic is that it appears to be officially closed. There is no locked gate or anything, but the kiosks and ticketing to get onto the trailhead are without personnel. This means that I have never paid an entrance fee, which in normal times is Q100 for foreigners (about USD$15). There are also very few people on the trail. One time I went up and saw no one else at all in my entire 6 hour hike. (But other times I have seen guided and unguided groups.) I have had the top of the volcano to myself each time I have gone up - a very different experience from the crowded peak at Indian Nose across the lake.

There seems to be a significant amount of misinformation going around about doing the San Pedro Hike:

Misinformation (1): You must have a guide to go with you, or it is very difficult to do without a guide. This is false.

Misinformation (2): You still have to pay the entrance fee, even though there is no one to take the payment. If there is a way to pay for the entrance during the pandemic, I have not figured out how to do so and no one has been able to direct me as to how one would even go about doing this.

Misinformation (3): the trail is crawling with robbers. This appears to have been true around 2019 but no longer. Many locals have recommended I not do this hike without a guide for fear of robbers. But when I ask them if they know of any recent robberies, or know anyone who has been robbed, they are never specific, never like, "oh yeah there were some last year!" The "robbers" thing is also said about the trails between the villages on the other side of the lake (like between Tzununa and Santa Cruz) but foreigners walk those trails all the time (locals seem to always take the boats) so I generally believe the threat of robbery is somewhat real, but overblown. Proceed at your own risk. Groups are safer of course.

Getting to Trail: The trailhead is easy to find and is about a 45 minute walk or 10 minute/Q20 tuk-tuk ride from the San Pedro Panajachel dock, up through town and onto the highway. The trailhead is by a building and in front of the building is a sign saying what your elevation is at the start of the trail (among other things and signs). On google maps type in "Volcan San Pedro Trailhead" and it will pop up. It is on the left side of the highway (when you are going up). On your way up you will pass two restaurant/mirador places maybe a half mile before you hit the trailhead building. Tuk Tuk drivers know where it is, you can just tell them "volcan san pedro". One of the things about going without a guide is that if you want to go early you will probably have to walk to the trailhead yourself without a tuk tuk, as they can be hard to find before about 7 am. Maybe you can arrange with one to pick you up earlier if you want. When I have hiked it myself starting at 5 or 6 am I just walk up to the trailhead. It's pretty steep, enjoy.

Trail itself: The trail is well marked. The first hour or so of the trail goes through a bunch of coffee fields, and people work in these fields (they are not robbers). There are trails for the coffee people that are not the Volcan trail. Follow green arrows when available to stay on trail (these arrows will disappear when you're out of the coffee, it's fine you're still on the right trail). If you get to forks and you're not sure what to do, go UP, do the steeper path. In fact, most of the time if it's not super clear where to go it actually doesn't matter (some forks are just little shortcuts/corner cuts) but going UP will always get you to the right place. There is one fork in between the first and second miradors, marked with a sign, that points you to the "Virgen Guadalupe". This is only a 5 minute or so trail down to a statue of the Virgin Mary (and when i went, also a nice pile of garbage). There is no view. I think this is a waste of time, just keep going on the trail to the left up to the Volcan.

There are four major Places on the trail, each that have man-made structures/benches, etc: (1) the 1st Mirador (nice view!), (2) the Second Mirador / Descansa / Swing ("Second Mirador") (Also Nice View!), (3) the Camp (no view!), and the Summit. The First Mirador and the Camp have primitive restroom facilities that I would not personally use (i just pee in the woods wherever).

For reference, the Lake is at 1550 meters; the Trailhead is at 1800m; Mirador 1 is at about 2100m; Second Mirador is at 2300m; Camp is at 2867m; and the Summit is at 3020m. There are signs every 100m starting at 2000m, but they're not always easy to see and I have missed one or two of them every time I've been up.

The whole trip for me, a 38 yr old man, alone, reasonably fit, takes me a little less than 6 hrs round trip from the trailhead (and a little more than 7 hours round trip from the Pana dock on foot). One of my trips was as follows (no tuk tuk, all on foot):

5:10 am - Leave Pana Dock
5:45 am - Arrive at Trailhead (rest, stretch)
5:50 am - Leave Trailhead
6:38 am - 1st Mirador (rest, pictures)
6:45 am - Leave 1st Mirador
6:49 am - Virgen Trail Fork
7:00 am - Second Mirador / Descansa (rest, snack, pictures)
7:05 am - Leave Second Mirador
7:35 am - Old Tree at 2600 mts
8:09 am - Camp
8:33 am - Summit (Pictures, Snack, rest)
8:55 am - Left Summit
11:50 am - Trailhead
12:30 pm - Pana Dock (included stop at restaurant/shop for water).

The early part to the first mirador is the easiest and least steep. When there is no entrance fee, this is a worthy hike on its own, as the view is delightful and it's an easy hike. The portion between the Second Mirador and the Camp is the longest, hardest and steepest.

Supplies:

One liter of water is sufficient for me. Some people may want more. Bring food, maybe not a whole lunch but at least some granola bars. MOre than just a banana. If you do not snack you will likely get "conked out" coming back down. My third time up I went with a friend who didn't bring enough food and she conked out coming down around the First Mirador, and the nice 45 minute jaunt from First Mirador to the trailhead turned into an over 2 hour ordeal because she was so exhausted and tired.

I find the top to be not too cold but it can be windy. Some people may want to bring a jacket. I do not personally bring a jacket.

If you start after 7 am I would bring bug spray or pre-spray your clothes. If you get down before it gets hot in the afternoon you won't need it.

The dust on the trail can be slippery, so good shoes are beneficial. I did it in reebok runners and walking shoes and was ok but it was definitely a bit slippery for me.

Other Notes:

There are ground dwelling birds that make movements/sounds in the bush that freaked me out the first time i went up, thinking it could be robbers. (it was not). Also acorn type things fall noisily.

Going down and coming up take about the same amount of time. Don't fool yourself into thinking going down is easier. It's not.

This is not like, the horriblest hike. There's no rock scrambling or anything like that. It's probably like a Bear Mountain hike (if you know Hudson Valley), plus 20% harder. But it's long. If you are not fit it will take you much longer than 6 hours so plan for that. The time I went with my conked-out friend it took us NINE HOURS just round trip from the trailhead (not pana dock).

The earlier you get to the top the less likely you are to be whited out by clouds, as the wind tends to bring clouds into the lake area around noon but sometimes earlier. The summit is above the cloud line and if there are clouds you will see NOTHING. But if you get up there and it's cloudy, wait and the clouds may blow over in a half hour or so. But the best way to avoid cloud whiteout risk is to get up to the top before 10 or 10:30 am and check the weather report the day before.

On one ascent i ran into a pair of nice police waiting at the Second Mirador. They were not letting people up past the Second Mirador but they wouldn't tell me why (robbers? Not sure). I was coming down so they didn't bother me, just asked me if there was anyone else at the top (nope!). But i was glad to have gotten past the Second Mirador by like 7 am so I wasn't stopped. I don't think the police get there super early.