Sometimes when you travel, expectations and reality are completely at odds. Before we came to Antigua Guatemala, we knew there would be countless opportunities to explore the area’s cultural and historic Spanish colonial sites. It’s what Antigua Guatemala is known for, after all. What we didn’t anticipate was the opportunity to explore a place called Hobbitenango, which modeled itself after the town of Hobbiton from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels. This was such a tourism non sequitur for Antigua Guatemala that we had to take a trip to Hobbitenango to check it out!
Hobbitenango is a mountain ecopark, located about 20 minutes outside the city of Antigua Guatemala. As the story goes, the owners modeled it in the style of a hobbit village since they were fans of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
In truth, Hobbitenango is equal parts theme park, lodge (of the hobbit-hole variety), and dining establishment whose purpose is to allow visitors the opportunity to reconnect with nature and take a break from the bustle of city life.
Adult admission tickets are actually reasonably priced considering how much there is to do at Hobbitenango, at 50 quetzales ($6.39 USD) per person.
It is easy to spend half a day or more there!
Although you can purchase round-trip shuttle tickets from Antigua Guatemala to Hobittenango for 45 quetzales ($5.75 USD) per person, it is actually more cost-effective, and convenient, to hire an Uber if there are at least 2 people going.
In our case, the round trip to and from our Airbnb cost 83 quetzales ($10.63 USD).
The ride is beautiful and you will be taken high into the (misty) mountains overlooking Antigua Guatemala and dropped off at the main parking lot area (see red pin below). From there you will wait for a shuttle to take you another 1 kilometer up into the mountains to reach the actual Hobbitenango campus.
For us, the main attraction of Hobbitenango was exploring the campus and appreciating the epic views at the 12 (!) different miradores (= lookout points).
The campus was impressive!
We checked out the Middle Earth-inspired bars and cafes…
And admired the hobbit holes (homes) that were open to explore or dine in.
There were dedicated dining halls and eating areas…
A 7-hole mini golf course…
Staring down the enemy.
And there were many different places to hang out, relax, and take in the views.
Rhonda couldn’t resist.
We also hiked the trails…
Took advantage of the hammock forest…
And watched thrill-seekers have fun with the giant swing “El Grito“.
But for us, the biggest draw was checking out the view from the Jardin del Coloso (= Garden of the Colossus). It was actually the first place we went to when we arrived at Hobbitenango at 8 am.
The weather was perfect and the view may have been the best we have seen in Antigua Guatemala!
Click to enlarge!
Our thanks to the Hobbitenango staff worker who helped us get “dynamic shots”!
We had a great time!
Didn’t You Say You Could Rent Hobbit-holes as Lodging?
Sadly you couldn’t get any closer or see inside the residences. But this link gives you glimpses into what you get when you book one of these places.
But What About Food? Was It Any Good?
Actually, the food was better than expected, although it was REALLY expensive. Before coming to Hobbitenango we checked out the menu online and knew that it wouldn’t be cheap.
We shared a cappuccino (hobbit-sized) and pineapple empanada for brunch, just to see what they were like. They were quite tasty!
But they weren’t exactly cheap.
Total cost with forced 10% gratuity = 47.30 quetzales ($6.10 USD), which is about double what it would cost back in town.
But that was nothing compared to lunch. We both ordered an “El Troll” burger, which actually looked as good as the online menu pictures!
And they were very good by any standard!
But not cheap at all. Each El Troll burger cost (with forced 10% gratuity) = 103.40 quetzales ($13.32 USD). Put another way, each burger cost twice the adult entry fee to Hobbitenango.
Yikes.
But again, we knew this when we came and got them anyway it for the novelty of it all. It isn’t every day you can eat good burgers with a volcano view in a hobbit village!
After lunch, we left Hobbitenango and returned to Antigua Guatemala. We might have stayed a little longer, but the clouds started rolling into the area at around 10 am. And conditions got progressively worse to the point that all of those gorgeous volcano views were nearly gone. But we made the most of our trip to Hobbitenango!
Volcan Fuego and Volcan Acatenango in the distance. This confirmed to us that canceling our Volcan Acatenango hike plans was the right thing to do.
In the rainy season, we recommend making your trip to Hobbitenango as early as possible, like we did, to get clear skies!
Overall Impressions
We really enjoyed ourselves and would recommend that anyone with an interest in J.R.R. Tolkien, or the outdoors, take a day trip to Hobittenango!
The admission fee is actually quite good value, as it includes mini golf, the El Grito swing, and lots of carnival-style medieval games for kids (archery, axe throwing, etc.). So if you have an extended family, you can spend the day here and entertain everyone without spending too much.
Just brace yourselves for the food prices and adjust accordingly!
Until next time…
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