There are a few concerns about overnight volcano treks near Guatemala since bandits have been known to hide out and ambush groups of hikers on Acatenango and Fuego. This happened twice in the week before we took the trip in late 2008. While most local tour companies claim to take 'security', American-run OX Adventures is the only one we found which pays armed, uniformed police officers to accompany the climb. Since these guys have the authority to actually shoot bandits, they're not usually messed with! OX Adventures told us that since they'd starting bringing the police along, they'd never had any trouble, whereas before, all their guides had been ambushed at least once. The police fee is covered by your payment - and they also make for interesting trekking companions!
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