Quilotoa Hike

Author: Tierney
Location: Quilotoa, The Andes, Ecuador
We woke up to a delicious pancake breakfast, and got ready to head out for an open air bus ride to Quilotoa for a hike with some of the best views I've ever seen. We started at the volcano there and posed for pictures in front of the giant crater there that held a bright turquoise lagoon at the bottom. Our plan for the entire day was to complete this hike and end back at our lodge, after walking for 7.5 miles at 12,500 feet above sea level. The first half of the hike was pretty relaxing, and we took our time heading down into the Riu Sihui Canyon before settling on a hill and eating lunch together. We also stopped in a small town about halfway through the hike, and some headed back via bus to the ecolodge, while the rest of us pushed on through the rest of the hike. The latter half of the hike was much more difficult because it was almost entirely uphill, so we took our time and rested a lot before getting back to Chugchilan. All of us felt extremely accomplished upon arriving at the Black Sheep Inn, after 6 hours of intense hiking. After all of us showered (which was much needed), we all talked about what we had seen, and how we've all completely fallen in love with Ecuador. I'll definitely need to come back again and visit all of the places we've been!
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Flickr Photos from this Voyage