Ecuador Volcano Adventure

Experience the ultimate Ecuadorian mountain climbing journey with this 6-day tour, designed to take you through the breathtaking Avenue of the Volcanoes. Acclimatize with scenic hikes up Santa Cruz, El Corazón, and Iliniza Norte before enjoying a day of relaxation at the stunning Quilotoa Lagoon. The adventure culminates with a two-day ascent of Cotopaxi, one of the world’s most beautiful and active volcanoes. Though not highly technical, the climb requires crampons, ice axes, and ropes. Departing at midnight from the refuge, you’ll reach the summit just in time to witness a spectacular sunrise over the Andes.

Pick-up at 08:00 and transfer to Ilinizas Mountain Lodge, our acclimatization base, from where we will depart to different mountains during the program. After a short rest and gear check, we continue to the trailhead of Santa Cruz Hill (3,900 m / 12,795 ft). This mountain is ideal to begin the acclimatization process. After a couple of hours of hiking through Andean páramo with chuquiragua and polylepis trees, we return to the Lodge for dinner and overnight.

• Altitude: 4,200 meters (13.779 feet)

• Meals: Box Luch,Dinner

• Accommodation: Ilinizas Mountain Lodge https://www.ilinizas-mountain-lodge.com/

• Distance: 11 km (round Trip)

• Duration : 5 to 9 hours (including summit time)

From El Chaupi village, we will start early in the morning after breakfast at 7:00 am. We will drive up to the trailhead (13,120ft/4.000m), where we start our hike. The first part of the hike takes us up through the small Andean grass. Then we will get on the sandy and scramble section, which leads to Corazón summit. The hike is about 4-6 hours long. Return to the Lodge.

• Altitude: 4788 meters (15,78 feet)

• Accommodation: Ilinizas Mountain Lodge https://www.ilinizas-mountain-lodge.com/

• Meals: (Breakfast/Box Luch/Dinner)

• Distance: 8 y 15 km (round Trip)

• Duration: 4 hours (including summit time)

We start early in the morning after breakfast at 7:30 am. We will drive up to the “La Virgen parking lot” (12,795ft/3.900m). From there, we will start a 3-hour hike up to the “Nuevos Horizontes Refuge” (15,580ft/4.750m). After resting, we will continue towards the saddle formed between both peaks and then head up to Illiniza North summit. It will take us 2 to 3 hours to reach the summit. The way back to the parking lot takes around 2 hours. Drive back to El Chaupi.

•        Altitude: 5.126 meters (16.818 feet)

•        Meals: (Breakfast/Box Luch/Dinner)

•        Accommodation: Ilinizas Mountain Lodge https://www.ilinizas-mountain-lodge.com/

•        Distance: 10 km (round Trip)

•        Duration : 6 to 8 hours (including summit time)

We’ll leave from El Chaupi in the morning and drive to Quilotoa Lagoon. During the

tour, we will stop at an Indian hut and visit the Tigua community to observe their

leather crafts. The tour will take about 4 hours, then we’ll arrive at the viewpoint to

admire the crater and lagoon. We will descend along a varying road for about an hour

to the bottom of the lagoon, where we can take photos and rest. After lunch, we’ll

return to El Chaupi after a 3-hour drive.

•        Altitude: 3,914 meters (12,841 feet)

•        Meals: (Breakfast/-/Dinner)

•        Accommodation: Ilinizas Mountain Lodge https://www.ilinizas-mountain-lodge.com/

•        Distance: 108 km (round trip)

•        Duration: (2 hours hike)

From El Chaupi, we will drive south through the Avenue of the Volcanoes until reaching the Cotopaxi National Park entrance. From there, we’ll drive east to the Cotopaxi parking lot (4.500m/14,763 ft), then hike for about an hour to the Jose Ribas Refuge. We will have dinner and rest until midnight before making our final ascent.

•        Altitude: 4,864 meters (15,958 feet)

•        Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)

•        Accommodations: Cotopaxi Refuge (Jose Rivas)

•        Distance: 1.5 km (from parking lot to refuge)

Midnight will be our wake-up time, and departure to the top will be around 01:00 am

after a light breakfast. The climb will take about 6 to 8 hours. Once at the summit, we’ll take time to take pictures of the crater and surroundings. Then we’ll descend back to the refuge, waking about 2 to 3 hours. After packing our belongings and eating, we’ll head down to the parking lot, where transportation will be ready to take us to Quito.

•        Altitude: (5,897 meters / 19,347 feet)

•        Meals: (Breakfast/-/)

•        Accommodations: (-)

•        Distance: Climb 10 k (round trip).

•        Duration: 5 to 6 hours to the summit.