Pizza Pacaya

About 25 miles south of Guatemala’s capital, rising more than 8,000 feet over sea level, the Pacaya volcano overlooks the nearby villages of San Vicente Pacaya and Amatitlán. On clear days, from the mountain top, tourists can even spot Guatemala City and the neighboring volcanoes of Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Since 1965, when it became active once again, the Pacaya, whose slow-flowing lava rivers are, by volcano standards, less dangerous, has become a magnet for tourists. And, in 2019, the Pacaya became the first pizza place in the country, and one of the first on earth, to use lava caves as ovens.

Pizza Pacaya’s founder, chef and accountant Mario David García Mansilla, became fascinated with the Pacaya in 2010, when the volcano exploded spectacularly, spewing bright-red flaming rocks over the roofs of San Vicente Pacaya and nearby villages. Ashes reached Guatemala’s International Airport, La Aurora, and flights were suspended for a day. Instead of running away, García Mansilla decided to stay close to the mighty mountain.

His curiosity took him near the volcano’s crater, where he saw guides inviting tourists to roast marshmallows over the hardened-but-still-hot lava. He decided that he wanted to roast more than candy, and settled on baking pizzas. For years, he baked pies for him and his friends on the cave-like structures. In 2019, after perfecting his technique, his hobby became a business. 

García Mansilla regularly hikes to the volcano’s top carrying about 60 pounds of ingredients and equipment on his back to meet tourists who have made a reservation. García Mansilla offers them various toppings, including meats (salami, pepperoni, chorizo, prosciutto) and vegetables (onions, olives, and peppers), and customers can request other extras in advance. He assembles the pizza using previously kneaded dough and bakes it for about 14 minutes. When he cooks on top of still-hot lava, the process only takes a couple of minutes, as the magma can reach up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 °C).