Your Travel Experience with chilepro
Day 1
Arrival in Quito
Arrival to Quito. You will be picked up at the airport and transferred to your hotel in the Avenue of Volcanoes.
Day 2
Acclimatization tour Pasochoa (4200m, +750Hm/-750Hm) B/L/D
We leave Quito in the morning and drive in an off-road vehicle to the starting point of our tour at the foot of Pasochoa in the Valle de los Chillos. The ascent of the extinct volcano takes about 4 to 5 hours in total. On the summit and already during the ascent we have a great view of Cotopaxi and the other nearby volcanoes if the visibility is clear. After the descent we drive down to the valley and on the Panamericana south to an original hacienda near Cotopaxi. Overnight stay at a local hacienda.
Day 3
Acclimatization tour Rumiñahui Central (4634m, +850Hm/-850Hm) B/L/-
Drive to the Cotopaxi National Park to the Limpiopungo Lagoon, where we start our five-hour hike to the central peak of Rumiñahui, which means "stone face". If the weather is good, there is a good chance to see a large Andean condor in flight. Opposite rises the majestic Cotopaxi. In the afternoon we will be back at our vehicle and drive home to our accommodation. Overnight stay at a local hacienda.
Day 4
Drive to the Mechahuasca Refuge at Carihuairazo (4180m) B/-/D
Our journey continues southward, via the town of Ambato to the volcanoes Carihuairazo and Chimborazo. After about three and a half hours of driving and a meal break on the way in a restaurant, we reach the Mechahuasca refuge at the foot of Carihuairazo, our next mountain destination. Once there and "settled in" we can observe vicuñas (the wild form of domesticated alpacas) grazing in the Paramo grasslands until dinner. Overnight stay refuge Mechahuasca.
Day 5
Besteigung Carihuairazo (5018m, +860Hm / -860Hm) B/L/D
Shortly before dawn we leave the mountain hut, during 2-3 hours we hike through tussock grass and paramo vegetation and reach the small remaining glacier. From there it takes 2 hours to reach the summit, depending on the snow and ice conditions at the summit, there are some short climbing passages (IV)) in the rock to overcome. Next to it rises majestically the Chimborazo, we enjoy its sight and the far view, in the distance all snow mountains of Ecuador are to be seen with clear view. Then we descend to the Abraspungo Valley. Overnight shelter Mechahuasca.
Day 6
Drive to the mountain village of Salinas de Guaranda (3600m) B/-/-
Later in the morning we drive past herds of vicunas, first through the windswept lunar landscape at the foot of Chimborazo, then through Indian scattered settlements and pastureland down the western Aden slopes to the picturesque mountain village of Salinas de Guaranda (3600m). Overnight stay at Hostal El Refugio.
Day 7
Recovery day Salinas de Guaranda B/-/-
We relax in the peaceful surroundings of Salinas de Guaranda and gain insight into the life of the indigenous inhabitants of the highlands. Interesting visits are possible, as many things are produced here in all seclusion on a cooperative level - Swiss cheese, chocolate, ceramics, jewelry, dried mushrooms, woolen items, soccer balls, salami, etc. Overnight stay at the Hostal La Minga.
Day 8
Chimborazo - Ascent to high camp at 5300m (+500HM) B/L/D
Today we drive to the "Reserva de Producción Faunistica Chimborazo", the vicuña reserve located at the foot of the Chimborazo. We reach a beautiful high plateau where free-ranging vicuñas graze. From the Carrel hut at 4800m we climb to the high camp at 5300m. We carry our own personal equipment including sleeping bag and mat. (Tents and food are provided and do not have to be carried). The mountaineering highlight is the ascent of Chimborazo, an extinct volcano with many individual craters and five peaks. Alexander von Humboldt considered it the highest mountain in the world, in fact it is - but only as seen from the center of the earth. Alexander von Humboldt failed in his attempt to climb the volcano. The first climber of the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper, then succeeded in 1880 also this summit as the first to conquer. Overnight stay in tents in the high camp.
Day 9
Summit day at Chimborazo (6268m, +980Hm / -980Hm) B/L/D
After midnight we leave for the summit, 5 - 7 hours it is from the high camp to the highest point of Ecuador, the 6268 m high Chimborazo. From the top we have a magnificent view to the mountains of the previous days, to the Illinizas and the Cotopaxi, deep below us lies Riobamba. For the descent to the high camp we need another 3 to 4 hours. Overnight stay in the high camp.
Day 10
Summit day at Chimborazo (6268m +980Hm / -1480Hm) and drive to Quito B/L/-
Today we have a 2nd chance to climb the Chimborazo summit. We descend into the valley and drive back to Quito.