Quilotoa
Quilotoa lake is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Ecuador. It is a 170 km and 3 hour bus ride from Quito, 2 hours from Ambato and almost 8 hours from Cuenca.
There are two main ways to visit this magical place.
First of all, a very popular way to visit this area is to do the Quilotoa Loop. This is a multiple day hike through the countryside in the Ecuadorian Andes, consisting of more than 200 km of trails and roads. You will hike through canyons, volcanoes and peaks.
The highlight of the hike is the Quilotoa crater hike, a 4/5 hour hike around the crater. It is a 10 km hike total with sandy and steep parts. The crater is 3km wide and 250 meters deep.
Along the Loop, there are plenty of small villages who offer lodging and food. Make sure to bring enough cash, there are almost no ATM’s along the way. Most hikers do a 4 day, 3 night hike in this area, but you can make it shorter or longer however you want.
Take the bus to Quilotoa, Sigchos or Isinlivi to enter the loop. You can find more information here.
Another popular way to enjoy Quilotoa is with a day trip from Quito. This is the way I visited and here is all the info I can give you.
I booked the tour through the Hostel I was staying at, The Secret Garden in Quito. Tourists from other hostels can also book this tour, it is an open tour agency.
A full day trip will cost 55 USD, including transportation, lunch and the guide. Try to go on this tour on a Thursday or Sunday so there is an enormous food market along the way! The schedule was as following:
7:30h Meeting in Quito
9:30h Explore the market at Saquisili (market) and stop at Pujili, a canyon.
10:30h Depart for Quilotoa Lake with some cultural stops along the road
13:30h Explore the Lake. You can rent a kayak to enter the lake, bring cash!
15:30h Lunch
16:30h Drive back to Quito
19:00h Arrive in Quito
Unfortunately, there is not enough time to do hike a full tour around the crater during this daytrip. If you want to go all the way to the lake, it will take 30 minutes to go down and 1 or two hours to get back to the top, depending on your shape.
Horses are available to get you back up, but this will cost you money and it is not cheap! If you don’t want to go down to the water, take a right coming from the visitor center and follow the small hiking path to discover amazing views along the crater!
Note:
The entrance to the crater is another small fee, not included in the tour.
Make sure to bring warm clothes, rain jacket, sunglasses, sunscreen, snacks and water.
50/60 USD is a fair price for this day trip, it is the easiest and for sure the fastest way to do so. Getting to Quilotoa by public transportation would take you 4 to 5 hours.
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