Climbing 4500m In Los Cuchumatanes
In planning our route into the Guatemalan Highlands, I underestimated just how big these mountains are. The Cuchumatanes are the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America with the highest peak, La Torre, reaching over 3800m. We climbed at total of 4517m in four days before a breathtaking 1500m descent into Huehuetenango.

After recovering from our recent battle with intestinal parasites, we set off from the nondescript pitstop town of Nentón and began our first 1000m climb through Los Cuchumatanes. This was the longest and most technical climbing we had done so far. Whilst we faced steeper and longer sections in later days, the rugged, washed out terrain on this climb had us both pushing our bikes in a few sections.
In addition to the punishing climbs and breathtaking views, we also experienced some amusing scenarios along these mountain roads. Jenny has written about these in a separate post here.
For those interested in the routes and stats, you can see maps on Strava at the links below. Our daily distances are unusually low, owing to the difficult terrain and higher elevation gain.
- Day 1: Nentón to Cojnal (14.4km, 1115m climb) — map
- Day 2: Cojnal to San Miguel Acatan (20km, 855m climb) — map
- Day 3: San Miguel Acatan to San Juan Ixcoy (33km, 1375m climb) — map
- Day 4: San Juan Ixcoy into Los Cuchumatanes (25km, 1321m climb) — map
- Day 5: Los Cuchumatanes to Huehuetenango (37km, 366m climb, 1500m descent) — map
Day 1: Nentón to Cojnal
As we started climbing east of Nentón, we realised it was just the beginning of five long days of climbing.
Day 2: Cojnal to San Miguel Acatán
If you squint you can see Jenny cruising down the final switchback before the river crossing, our designated lunch spot – the big climb towers imposingly on the other side.
I managed to ride the entire climb without any pushing, but the extra touring weight required several stops to catch my breath.
Jenny tackling another spaghetti turn, the switchbacks of the earlier descent visible in the background
Wow, we came down that (top), and up that (bottom) and now we’re here?! No wonder I am hungry again!
Finally, we made it to a hotel in San Miguel Acatán. What better way to dry off than with a cockfight towel.
Day 3: San Miguel Acatán to San Juan Ixcoy
Completely destroyed, yet equally satisfied upon reaching the summit at 2915m, after 1100m dirt road climbing
Little does she know I’ve just checked the GPS and realised there’s an annoying final 50m climb around the corner.
Day 4: San Juan Ixcoy to Los Cuchucatanes
We started our trip with fairly extravagant homemade sauces and stirfrys, but more recently we’ve been resorting to quick noodles and plain pasta with salsa.
We ducked into this tiny comedor at the summit for some caldo de pollo and coffee to warm up our frozen digits.
Day 5: Los Cuchucatanes to Huehuetenango
The sunshine was a warm welcome after pitching the tent in bitter cold pouring rain the night before.
The turnoff heading up to La Torre, the highest peak of Los Cuchumatanes at over 3800m; we decided to give it a miss after all the climbing in the past 5 days.