Day 1: Arrival in Quito

At the airport, our driver will pick you up and take you to the hotel.

Day 2: City tour Quito / Monument of the Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World)

After breakfast, trans­por­tation will be waiting for you at the hotel to take you to visit the historic center of Quito, which is the best preserved and largest histo­rical center in Latin America and has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. You will visit beautiful churches that keep in your walls the history of the city of Quito and artistic sculp­tures. Churches like San Francisco church, and the Sagrado Corazón de Jesus church. In the colonial center of Quito, there is also a wide variety of monuments, and histo­rical sites such as El Panecillo, Plaza de la Indepen­dencia and beautiful buildings from the colonial era. After visiting the colonial center of Quito, you will head to the equator line that divides the earth into two hemispheres (Middle of the World Monument). Then, you will visit the Intiñan inter­active museum and experiment with the uniqueness of the place, such as: observe how the water flows to the right or to the left by the drain, or try to balance the egg with the head of a nail. Finally, I return to the hotel.

Day 3: Pasochoa Volcano (4,200 m)

Early in the morning, you will have breakfast and then start the adventure to the National Park Pasochoa. The volcano is surrounded by lush forests and landscapes of Páramo. The summit of Pasochoa is at 4,200 m. During the ascent and descent of the volcano, you can enjoy the natural beauty of the place. In the afternoon you will return to the hotel.

Day 4: Corazón Volcano (4,790 m)

The Corazón volcano receives its name because of its shape since it looks like a heart. The ascent of this volcano is relatively easy and is ideal for the process of accli­ma­tization. On a clear day, you have an impressive view of the other peaks in the area, such as the Illinizas, Cotopaxi, Rumiñahui, and Pasochoa volcanoes. Once reached the top of the Corazón volcano you will descend and return to the hotel.

Day 5: Illiniza Norte Volcano (5,216 m)

Start the day with breakfast at the hotel. So far you have walked the “easy“ volcanoes, but on this day the adventure will take you to the ascent of the Illiniza Norte volcano, it has an average degree of diffi­culty due to two main factors. First, the terrain in a part of the journey is very sandy and makes the walk a bit difficult. Second, the lack of oxygen when reaching the summit may be demanding, but it is a good accli­ma­tization training for the ascent of the famous Cotopaxi volcano which is the next and ultimate goal. The ascent lasts appro­xi­m­ately 6 hours and leads to an altitude of 5,126 m. Once reached the summit, you will descent and go to the hotel.

Day 6: Free Day

This day has as objective, that you recover from the physical effort of having climbed 3 volcanoes, so you can rest and recharge your batteries, for the ascension of one of the highest and most famous volcanoes in Ecuador, the Cotopaxi volcano.

Day 7: Cotopaxi Volcano – José Ribas Mountain Refuge (4,800 m)

After breakfast, the car will be waiting for you in the hotel to go for your next adventure, which is to reach the summit of the Cotopaxi volcano. We drive to the Cotopaxi National Park. The track leads to the car park at about 4,500 m. Then walk to the José Ribas refuge (4,800 m). After a forti­fying dinner, you will go to bed early at 6:30 p.m., as you will start your ascent to the top early at 11 p.m.

8. Tag: Cotopaxi – Gipfeltag (5.897 m)

After a good breakfast, the challenge begins, you will start to ascent the fasci­nating summit of Cotopaxi. After appro­xi­m­ately 1.5 hours you will reach the glacier entrance (appro­xi­m­ately 5,100 m). At this point, you have to put on your crampons. The route to the summit is not too difficult, but the route through the glacier changes from one year to the next. The most outstanding challenge of climbing the Cotopaxi volcano is to lead with the lack of oxygen. The reward for the sweat of the ascent efforts is the magni­ficent panorama of the summit and the impressive view of the 300-meter-deep crater. The descent back to the refuge lasts appro­xi­m­ately 4 hours on the same route. Once at the refuge you will take a short break, and continue to the parking lot, where the driver is already waiting for you to return to the hotel.

Day 9: Free Day – Otavalo city.

After breakfast, the car will be waiting for you at the hotel to travel to the north of the country to the city of Otavalo. Otavalo is one of the most famous cities in Ecuador because its inhabi­tants (indigenous Otavalo) have a market in the main square (Plaza del Poncho) and in the streets of the city where the Otavalan Indians show and sell their crafts to visitors. It is the perfect place to go shopping and bring a souvenir from Ecuador. The largest market day is Saturday. In Otavalo, you can find restau­rants with typical food of the place and also restau­rants that offer inter­na­tional food. This day you have free so that you can enjoy the colorful culture and city of Otavalo. You will spend the night in a hotel in Otavalo.

Day 10: Papal­lacta – Hot Springs

After breakfast the adventure continues, this time you will go to Papal­lacta, which is a place with natural hot springs. Papal­lacta offers thermal pools, hot springs, restaurant, bar, etc. all surrounded by nature. It is the perfect place to end an adventure mountai­neering trip through the Ecuadorian Andes. You will spend the night in Papallacta.

Day 11: Back home

After breakfast, the car will be waiting for you at the hotel to take you to the inter­na­tional airport of Quito.