The Quilotoa Loop
A four day hike ending at a crater lake
The Quilotoa Loop: A three day trek through the Ecuadorian Andes and country side, hiking from hostel to hostel along a loosely defined route that concludes at the Quilotoa Laguna, an insane crater lake.
After reading about this trek I knew I wanted to do it. I looked forward to being in the country side and figured hiking for three days would be good conditioning for climbing Cotopaxi. The only hang up was I needed to find someone to do it with me. Despite reading several accounts of solo female travelers having a wonderful time alone, I felt a little hesitant to walk it alone and wanted to honor my instincts.
Luckily, my hostel homie from Quito who I climbed Rucu Pinchincha with was down. He was also interested in attempting the summit of Cotopaxi; we both seem to have caught some type of hiking/volcano climbing bug in Quito. Thus, he will henceforth be referred to as my Cotopaxi Comrade, or his name works too, Janis. We decided to travel together for the next week, starting with the Quilotoa Loop, and then we would try our hand at the summit.
To begin the Loop we left Quito and made our way south to a city called Latacunga, nestled at the base of Cotopaxi. Janis and I spent the majority of the bus ride glued to the windows for as the bus drove south, an incredible view of Cotopaxi presented itself. We had seen the volcano from the cable car in Quito, but it was even more majestic up close. We admired the volcano from every angle, its perfect shape and snowy glacier. We are obsessed. With a view like that time flew by, and two hours later we arrived in Laqacunga. From the bus terminal we crossed a busy bridge leading into the city. Weaving around people and traffic, we made our way to our hostel, Hostel Cafe Tiana. As we walked, Janis admired my speedy walking pace that despite much smaller legs matched his pace, and agreed this was a sign that we would make good travel partners.
It's a good feeling to arrive at a new, randomly chosen hostel and know you made the right choice. Hostel Cafe Tiana had good vibes and seriously cozy beds. I have a pretty standard routine after arriving in a new place: settle into the hostel, change my clothes based on the weather, let my sisters know I am alive, and then head out for a walk around town.
Janis and I aimlessly roamed around town for a little while and then set out in search of a grocery store for some dinner supplies. Along the way we stumbled upon a massive cemetery, unique to any cemetery I have seen before. It was a little city of its own with street names and people bustling around tending to graves. A holiday must have been approaching because outside the entrance of the cemetery people were buying and selling flowers like mad. It was a fascinating sight to see.
We returned to our hostel and made a grand discovery: our home for the night had a roof top with an amazing view of the city. With a hot cup of tea in hand, I sat and watched an amazing sunset. Not only was the brilliant red sky epic, but from the roof I could see the twin peaks of Illiniza Norte and Sur to the Northwest and the mighty Cotopaxi to the Northeast.
As the sky darkened, the nearly full moon made an appearance. It was almost too much.
Day One: Arriving in Sigchos
The next day at the reasonable hour of 9:30am we boarded a bus to Sigchos, a small town two hours north west of Latacunga. Not surprisingly, as we walked onto the bus there were many other gringos also heading to the first point on the Loop. If you were a single traveler, this would be the perfect place to make some friends to join you on the loop.
We arrived in Sigchos after a very scenic drive and, first things first, found some lunch for Janis. There wasn't much for a vegan, but I was gifted the small pile of shredded lettuce and canned beats that occupied a small corner of Janis' plate piled high with rice, meat and more meat. I'll take what I can get, plus I had come very well prepared with a tote bag full of fruit, bread, peanut butter and a few other snacks.
After lunch and my very first (very exciting) Andean Llama sighting, we followed a road heading out of town. On the edge of Sigchos a sign confirmed that we were not only heading the right way but also informed us that our destination was just 14km away. I was slightly surprised by the very helpful sign, for I had read that getting lost is apart of the Quilotoa experience.
Thus, most accounts of this trek advised asking every local you come across for confirmation or directions. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that with maps.me on my phone the path was very well documented and easy to follow. That being said, I made the conscious effort to disconnect and only check my phone once or twice.
The hike to the next town on the route called Insilivi, where we would spend the night, was pleasant and relatively low intensity. We walked for approximately four hours, through farm lands, past fragrant eucalyptus tree and some of the most beautiful, abundant gardens I have ever seen. I am in awe of the vegetation here in Ecuador. In one garden huge, vibrantly green cacti grew next to fruit trees, next to potato plants topped with little purple flowers, next to both pumpkin and watermelon vines. Our first day of walking ended at the very famous Llullu Llama hostel.
I had debated over whether to stay at this hostel, due to the price of $19 for a dormitory bed, or the less expensive option right next door. That would be the most I had spent on a bed thus far in my travels. However, that price included not only the bed but dinner, breakfast and morning yoga if you were so inclined. It was absolutely worth the tiny bit of luxury. Not only is the space beautiful and the beds oh-so-comfortable, but the steamy hot rainhead shower I had was everything.
We arrived around 3pm with plenty of time to explore and relax before dinner at 6:30pm. We went for a little walk, during which the entire town was engulfed in an evening fog. Back at Llullu Llama I joined all the other loop-ers in lounging around the fire place, reading, playing cards, and enjoyed a very large beer to curb my hunger.
At 6:30pm, everyone made their way into the gorgeous dinning room with wood beam ceilings and an entire wall of windows looking out onto the hills to eat dinner together. Our meal included a soup, salad and a vegan quinoa vegetable mix for myself and one other vegan. Through out dinner we were served the most delicious bread, baked freshly and exclusively at Llullu. I would do the whole loop again for another bite of that bread.
Everyone lingered at the three large wooden dinning tables long after our plates were cleared, lost in conversation. I was lucky to sit across from a really lovely and impeccably stylish couple from Copenhagen, of course. With two friends having just moved there and a third moving there next summer, we talked for hours about their city and Danish culture. After a good long chat and a couple card games I retreated to my bed for a wonderful night’s sleep.
Day Two: to Chugchilán
The next morning after a little yoga practice, everyone resumed their places in the dinning room to share another meal together. Though the main breakfast was eggs, I ate my weight in fruit topped with granola and shredded coconut and several more slices of the incredible bread. Extremely full, I packed my bag, brushed my teeth and was set for the second day of hiking.
Just before leaving, I snuck into the dinning room, gathered all the left over bread for a mid-morning snack and ran out the door.
Our second day hiking was just as lovely as the first. We walked between more farm lands, across a river on a rickety bridge and up a pretty intense incline to the next village of Chugchilán.
We walked all the way through the town to a hostel called El Vaquero, a pleasant place with a great view. On our way to the hostel we passed by all sorts of activities in town, so we dropped our day packs on our beds and headed right back into town to check it out. We joined a large crowd watching an intense match of a sport resembling volleyball. It was slightly different with only three players on each team divided by a thin, high net in the middle of the court. We sat for two games, the first of which was played by six young men filled with drama and attitude.
Most of the crowd left for the second game played by a group of older gentlemen in matching shoes, but we stayed until an evening chill drove us back to the old stove fire of El Vaquero.
Once again, our hostel included dinner and breakfast. So along with some of the other guests we hung out in the common space reading until dinner was served. Many of the people who had been at Llullu Llama the night before were also staying at El Vaquero.
Everyone takes slightly different paths and walks at different tempos, but you see the same faces over and over again, creating a lovely sense of community between everyone enjoying the loop. I was really happy to find my self sitting with the Copenhagen couple again to share another lovely conversation over dinner.
Day Three:
The third day on the trek began with a breakfast of granola, fruit and several cups of tea. Afterwards, I re-packed my bag and applied a thick layer of sunscreen over every exposed surface. We were so lucky to have another day of sunshine, but at this altitude the sun is so strong you will burn to a crisp. Before hopping back on the trail, I said a sad goodbye to my new Danish friends who hopefully I will meet again in Copenhagen.
Another day of walking lay ahead of us, though this time the destination was the main attraction, the crater lake.
It took about four hours from Chugchilán to the ridge of the Quilotoa Crater Lake. We walk, walk, walk, up a big hill until finally the road ends at a spectacular lookout over the lake. Feeling good and wanting to train for our Cotopaxi climb, we decided to head left and take the long way around the east side of lake. The east side includes a steep incline to the highest point around the crater. It was an amazing hike with every new view of the lake more impressive than the last. However, it was exposed and exhausting, not only on the inclines but dusty paths made for very slippery descents.
It was not until 4pm, after almost 7 hours of walking, that we finally arrived in the town of Quilotoa. Some loop-ers spend a night in Quilotoa, but exhausted from the day we decided to find a bus heading back to Laqacunga. We walked straight through the town, on to a bus and settled into two seats, very content to sit down for a while.