In Costa Rica I stayed longer than I expected. Also because I fell in love with the volcano Arenal in La Fortuna. But I never had a chance to climb it. It was officially illegal, forbidden. Then few weeks later I left and arrived to magical island of Ometepe in Nicaragua and from day one I was amazed by its two volcanoes. Especially by one. By volcano Concepcion which looked like Arenal. Exactly like Arenal. So this time I was more than sure. I had to climb to the peak of this volcano whatever it takes …

After I found out that hikes to Concepcion volcano are organised on daily basis and its cost is $25, I didn´t even think about it for a second. Thanks to my amazing hostel Life is Good (owned by Slovaks 😉 ) I booked a guided hike to Concepcion volcano with Green Expeditions Ometepe and my long wished dream was about to come true …

HOW WAS THE CONCEPCION VOLCANO HIKE?

Amazing, breathtaking, exhausting, adventurous, extreme, unique, crazy, tiring, fun … All in one. Simply UNFORGETTABLE!!!

I was lucky to have great guide with me (Danilo from Green Expeditions who has climbed Concepcion more than 300x) and also great company. Company of three crazy Slovak guys who I met two days before the hike. So I couldn´t be luckier. You know meeting my “paisanos” alias people from my country here in Latin America is almost a mission impossible. In 8 months of South America backpacking in 2015 I didn´t meet any Slovaks. And here we go – here in Ometepe I got to meet 11 Slovak people out of which with three I did a hike. Simply unbelievable!

But back to business. How was the hike? Truly exhausting! We started at 7am and came back to hostel around 4pm. The hike was divided into 3 parts. The first part – the easy one – was walking around 4km through the flat territory. The second part – more difficult – was hike through the “jungle” for about 90 minutes where we had to ascend quite a bit till we got to the official viewpoint at the altitude of 1000m.  And then the third part – the most difficult part – climbing steep peak of Concepcion volcano. It was 600 of altitude metres, super steep and rocky terrain, warm and sunny weather was followed by cold weather with super strong wind. Sun disappeared and misty clouds came instead. It was like the 1st of April weather – changing like crazy!

But the most difficult part was almost the end. The wind was incredibly strong. Because of fog I was not able to see even 2 metres in front of me. Sharp rocky sand was attacking my skin (yeah, so stupid, I did my hike in shorts) and for a second I was even doubting my success of getting up! But as I said I had amazing guide and even better company of Slovak guys who supported me big time! Also thanks to them I made it and after 4 hours of pretty exhausting climb I got to the peak. I climbed volcano Concepcion with the altitude of 1610 meters…

The way back was a never ending story. Long and exhausting. We had to be super careful where and how we stepped so we wouldn´t cause “river of lava rocks” which could harm others in front of us … But we were descending with great feeling of satisfaction!

THE BEST PART OF CONCEPCION HIKE

The feeling of success. That I truly made it. That I climbed steep and rocky terrain of still active volcano in Nicaragua. I was so proud of myself. I wasn´t even bothered for not seeing anything from the top because of the fog. I didn´t care, I was happy I made it. 🙂

Apart of the great feeling, the views during hike were simply breathtaking. Views all over the island Ometepe, lake Cocibolca, another volcano Mombacho which is already close to colonial city of Granada … Moreover, I am a big fan of heights and adrenaline. And this hike was truly adventurous. Harsh, extreme, adventurous. I simply loved it and recommend it to everyone who is as passionate about hikes and adventure as I am.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT CONCEPCION HIKE

GUIDED TOUR – more than recommended, trek is harsh and thanks to my guide I felt very safe – personally I can recommend Green Expeditions Ometepe – I was more than happy with them

PRICE – $25 per guided hike + $3 per entrance to the park

EQUIPMENT – Green Expeditions provided me walking stick and gloves (yeah, you use your hands while climbing up the volcano) – I recommend long comfy pants and also wind jacket

LEVEL of DIFFICULTY – high BUT my Slovak friend has never done any special hikes and climbed it without problems

ALTITUDE  – you start at 150 meters and finish at 1610 meters

So my dear MiliMundo readers, Concepcion volcano hike was difficult but more than worth it. One of the best hikes in my life. And I truly recommend you to go through this pain & thus experience a magical ascent to the clouds of active volcano Concepcion on Ometepe island in Nicaragua…

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