Your Travel Experience with chilepro
Day 1
Departure from Quito
Galapagos PRO Highlight: This tour should not be missed in your Ecuador experience!
On this 2-day tour you are travelling in a group. The tour can be taken in both directions: Quilotoa-Cotopaxi or Cotopaxi-Quilotoa. The order of stops may vary. Subject to change without notice.
You will be picked up at the hotel in Quito in the morning and drive south along the Road of the Volcanoes.
Visit the enchanting Quilotoa Lagoon!
At your first stop on the way to the turquoise blue Quilotoa Lagoon you will enjoy a delicious breakfast.
Then you will visit the artist community of Tigua, which is considered the cradle of Naïve Art in Ecuador. In the gallery you can contemplate a wide variety of handmade items and purchase souvenirs. The pictures are painted by hand on llama and sheepskin. Continue to a viewpoint at the Toachi Canyon with its incredible landscape.
Arriving at Quilotoa, a spectacular view of the crater lake awaits you, which glows in a wide variety of blue and turquoise colours depending on the sunlight. In about 30 to 45 minutes you can walk down a path to the shore of the crater lake. Once at the bottom, you can rent a kayak (approx. 3 USD for 30 minutes), ride a motorised inflatable boat (approx. 5 USD for 20 minutes) or just take in the magic of this place.
Back up you go on foot in about 45 to 60 minutes or on the back of a mule (approx. 10 USD). At the top you can have a typical Ecuadorian lunch and stroll past various souvenir stands.
Afterwards, you will drive to your hotel and have free time to have a typical dinner of the region.
Please note that the mentioned prices and availability of activities at Quilotoa Lagoon are not guaranteed and may vary.
Day 2
Discover one of the highest active volcanoes in the world!
Today you set off from your hotel to Ecuador's second highest volcano - the 19,347 ft (5,897 m) high, active Cotopaxi.
You will visit the beautiful Limpiopungo Lagoon on the flank of Cotopaxi, where you can observe various birds, native plants and the surrounding volcanoes. Afterwards, you will visit the Mariscal Sucre Interpretation Center in the National Park, which has an exhibition of photos and information about the Cotopaxi volcano.
From the main trail, a dirt road climbs steeply south up the volcano. After a few switchbacks, you reach a parking lot at about 15,092 ft (4,600 m). From there, it is about an hour to an hour and a half's walk up to the Refugio José Ribas at 15,953 ft (4,864 m). On a clear day, you have a magnificent view from here. Fortify yourself with a hot chocolate and take in the breathtaking view.
Return to Quito
On the subsequent way back to Quito, you make a stop at a farm near Cotopaxi. We recommend you to try the potato stew "Locro", a typical dish in the Andes, against the cold.