A Road Less Traveled: Quilotoa Loop

The Quilotoa Loop is a 3 day loop through mountains & indigenous villages that ends at a volcano crater (if chose to begin it in Isinlivi like me). The lady in the hostel in Latacunga, Hostal/cafe Tiana recommended that I start in Isinlivi and end at the lake in Quilotoa to help with the acclimatization. I plan on hiking Volcano Cotapaxi here so I decided I better take her advice. [Cotopaxi is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world @ 19,400 feet (5,897 meters)].

I am glad I did it this way, not only to help with the acclimatization, but because we ended the 3 day hike at a beautiful lake in a volcano crater. The struggle up the mountains makes the destination that much better.

fresh milk off the street of Latacunga

This hike is is something I really didn't want to do by myself, as I heard many stories of people getting lost (guides are constantly taking down signs so that they get more business). At the hostel in Latacunga I lucked out and met an awesome girl from San Fran, Julie, who was looking to do the hike the following day.

Julie and I at an "Inca look out spot" in Isnilvi

We woke up early Wednesday morning to head to the market in Pujili with another guy from the hostel (Carlos, who went to high school in Danville. Small world.) We spent a few hours there before taking a bus back to Latacunga. From Latacunga, we took the 12:15 bus to Isinlivi, which took 3 hours (a long, bumpy, windy road). In Isinlivi, we stayed at Llullu Llama, which was great!

the hostel Llau Llama in Isnilvi

It was nice to spend an afternoon and night there, sharing stories around the fire, and resting for a big hike the next day. At the hostel we met 3 guys (Ben from U.K., Martin from Germany, and Roger from Switzerland), and the 5 of us ended up doing the whole trek together.

After a great breakfast of homemade bread & jam, eggs, fruit salad and granola, we started our hike at 9:45 am. With a good map and track notes from the hostel, Roger took on the role of guide, and did a great job. We only took the wrong path once which led us over a 2 log bridge and through a field of electric fences (I think everyone got shocked at least 4 times).

If we would have stayed on the path for another 20 minutes we would have crossed at a more pedestrian friendly bridge with handrails and no electric fences. Owell, just adds to the adventure I guess.

The best part (besides the volcano crater) were seeing all the local villages and meeting some local people. We arrived at our destination of Chugchilian at 3:00. Here we stayed at Cloud Forest for $12 a night (breakfast and dinner included).

On the third day, we began our trek for Quilotoa at 9:00 am from Chugchilian. I can see why most people choose to do this trek the reverse of what we did. This day involved some major mountain climbing. I just kept telling myself, this struggle will make the final destination of the volcano crater that much more rewarding.

Halfway through the hike, we stopped in Guayama (a local village of maybe.. um.. 30 people.) Here we rested a bit, until we heard fireworks (which usually signifies some type of community event that is about to happen.) As we were walking out of the village, we saw the crowd of people (maybe 15) gathering around a cow they were planning on butchering for the fiesta the next day. This was a huge cultural experience for us, so we decided to stop and watch. Everyone but me. I've seen pigs being killed. I've even killed chicken and hens. However, cows are different for me. I just couldn't stand to watch it being killed. This is why I choose not to eat them. I think everyone should be able to watch where there food comes from in order to be able to eat it.

At around 3:00 in the afternoon we finally arrived at the volcano crater. I'm not sure if it was our 2 days straight of basically uphill walking or its stunning beauty, but I certainly felt at peace when I arrived to the top. We spent a bit over an hour walking around the crater. Near the top/end of the hike we got stuck behind a lady with her group of over 30 sheep. I didn't mind, I enjoyed taking photos of it along the way.

In Quilotoa we stayed at Hostel Chositas ($10 a night with breakfast and dinner included). Here our night consisted of resting and visiting the local tienda to buy all the junk food we could get our hands on (chips, cookies, liter of coca cola)