Pacaya is an active volcano in Guatemala. Between 1860 and 1961 the volcano was dormant, but then it re-awoke and has been pretty much active ever since, in fact it sometimes showers the nearby city of Antigua with ash.

The volcano is a popular tourist attraction, and in the late 1990s it became notorious for frequent armed robberies on its slopes, so now tour groups generally visit accompanied by armed guards (as if being on an active volcano wasn’t dangerous enough!)

Pacaya is part of a chain of volcanoes in Guatemala, but you can see in our thumbnail that from up here it’s definitely the most interesting of the lot. Check out the fantastic glowing rim of the crater!