A tour of various Ecuadorian peaks, we will visit volcanic calderas, steep slopes, rocky ridges and beautiful glaciers. This itinerary begins in the north of the country, visiting the Province of the Lakes (Imbabura), its summits and its cultural wealth. We will start by going around Lake Cuicocha, an old volcanic caldera. We will climb Imbabura, a perfect mountain to acclimatize before going to Cayambe, the third highest mountain in Ecuador. We will visit the famous Otavalo Market on our morning of rest. Then we will go south, to Illiniza Norte, an iconic 5,000 with a beautiful climb at the end. To close this itinerary full of mountains and summits, we will try to stand on the summit of the Highest Active Volcano in the World, and one of the most aesthetic snowcaps, Cotopaxi.
Servicio válido para 2023.
This tour starts in the North of Ecuador, after our guide picks you up from the hotel. We will travel a little over two hours before arriving at beautiful Lake Cuicocha, a volcanic caldera located at the foot of Mount Cotacachi. The route we will take goes complete around the caldera, which takes approximately 4 to 5 hours at a quiet pace, perfect to enjoy the day. Traveling about 12 kilometers, we will arrive back to our transport to go to our hotel to rest.
Accommodation: Typical Andean Hacienda or Hotel
Food: Lunch and Dinner
The second day we will travel a short time from our hotel to the place where our walk to the summit of Imbabura begins. A walk on a steep and steep slope that rises above the valley. Finally, in the last section, we will have a bit of rock, which is not difficult to overcome. We will enjoy its summit, before getting back to the vehicle and our hotel to rest.
Food: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Today we will have a quiet and relaxed morning to rest and prepare all our equipment necessary for our first glacier. At mid-morning we will go to the Cayambe Refuge located at 4600 meters. In the afternoon, we will review a bit about glacier progression and safety, then we will have an early dinner, and finally sleep as soon as possible.
Accommodation: Oleas Berge Refuge
Food: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
This day our journey begins at midnight, after eating something light and having a cup of hot tea, we will leave the shelter following a rocky section that will take us about an hour to reach the foot of the glacier. We will rope ourselves to follow the path to the summit after the sun rises. We will enjoy this beautiful summit that offers us an incredible view of all the snowcapped mountains of Ecuador to the south, and the hidden lakes of San Marcos and Puruhanta to the north. Finally, we will descend back to the refuge and then to Otavalo to rest.
After four days filled with lots of mountain and nature, this day we will take a quiet and relaxed morning, touring one of the most colorful and lively markets in Latin America. The famous Plaza de Ponchos in Otavalo is a labyrinth of crafts, folklore and life; they will teach you a little about the skills of our craftsmen. Around noon we will start our trip north, stopping for lunch and arriving in the afternoon at our lodge located in the Machachi Valley, a very fertile agricultural valley in the heart of the central Andes, where we will spend the night in a comfortable lodge.
Accommodation: Chuquiragua Lodge or similar
We will leave our lodge very early in the morning given that a long alpine journey awaits us in Los Illinizas. After approximately half an hour of travel we will arrive at the parking lot of "La Virgen" located at 3.950 MASL. Here begins our walk lasting approximately 5 hours, which will start on a simple path crossing an old Polylepis forest, then a rocky ridge with a direct view of Cotopaxi, through a extensive sandy area up to the Nuevos Horizontes refuge, located at 4,700 meters. From here the terrain becomes more technical with a long alpine ridge leading us to the beautiful summit of Illiniza Norte. For the descent, we will take the direct route through a long and fun sandy zone that leads us directly to the forest path and parking lot. Finally, we will go down to our transport to rest in our lodge.
In the morning we can be relaxed and rest before leaving mid-morning to Tambopaxi Lodge, at the foot of Cotopaxi. Here we will have lunch and prepare all the necessary equipment for our great ascent. After having dinner early, we will go to rest as soon as possible, since our summit attack starts very early.
Accommodation: Tambopaxi Lodge or similar
Near midnight, we will go to the summit in our transport. After 30 minutes we will start our walk at 4,500 masl. From here we will climb calmly and safely to be at the summit shortly after dawn, where we can celebrate standing on top of the highest active volcano in the world.
We then go back to our transport and on to Tambopaxi and then Quito, where our services end leaving you at your hotel.
Accommodation: Not included
Food: Breakfast and lunch
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