Quilotoa Loop
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 31.32 mi
- Elevation gain
- 10,912 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 9,147 ft
- Max elevation
- 12,844 ft
- TrailRank
-
56
4.3
- Min elevation
- 8,353 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 3 days 2 hours 25 minutes
- Coordinates
- 4583
- Uploaded
- March 2, 2017
- Recorded
- February 2017
near Sigchos, Cotopaxi (Ecuador)
Viewed 9759 times, downloaded 649 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Bus to Sigchos
Day 1 Sigchos to Isinlivi
Day 2 Isinlivi to Chugchilan
Day 3 Chugchilan to Quilotoa
Day 4 Quilotoa to Tigua
Bus to Latacunga
On the front end, we took the 9:30 bus from Latacunga to Sigchos and started our hike from the main square in Sigchos. When we finished at Tigua we flagged down a bus on the main road (highway 30) to return to Latacunga. There are multiple good places to stay in Latacunga within walking distance of the bus terminal.
The trip can be done in either direction and is somewhat harder southbound (more uphill than down by 500 meters). We chose this direction to save the best portions for day 3 (Laguna de Quilotoa) and day 4 (canyon) of the hike. If you hike in the opposite direction (northbound) there may be a park entrance fee to get access to Quilotoa. Click on the individual hikes listed above for more information and the hike statistics including hike time, elevation change and distances. Distance averaged around 13 kilometers per day and hiking times were about 5 hours per day.
The hostel options are weak/limited in Sigchos and Tigua but there is a good selection and good quality hostels in Isinlivi, Chugchilan, Quilotoa and Latacunga. Prices ranged from $20 - 30 per person per night and included a good dinner and breakfast.
Not much wildlife but loads of scenery. Those not accustomed to the elevation (the hike peaks at close to 4,000 meters above sea level) may need to acclimatize for a day or two or risk difficulties such as headaches, nausea and dizziness. For those with more time and energy there are two additional hikes in and around Quilotoa; one that completely circles the laguna, and a shorter one that takes you down to the waters edge.
You'll need water, lunches/snacks, an extra layer of clothing and either GPS or a lot of patience with the written instructions provided by the hostels. There are opportunities to buy some food and beverages in each town at small stores. Weather can change quickly, early starts or schedule flexibility will help a lot.
Very enjoyable trip with opportunities to meet hikers from around the world and see some really beautiful scenery.
Waypoints
Bridge
8,369 ft
Bridge
Bridge over the river and also the lowest part of the hike. It's all uphill from here.
Panorama
River
Intersection
9,170 ft
Just before bridge, right turn
Before the concrete bridge, turn right here. The trail is not easy to spot, but there are several painted marks on the rocks.
Bridge
8,720 ft
Tree bridge
This log bridge was a little trickier, especially when wet. We advanced our front foot and then brought our back foot up to meet it. Railing was broken.
Intersection
11,575 ft
Day 3 Intersection 5
Slight left off main road. Maxini trying to make sense out of written directions.
Bridge
10,919 ft
Log over river
Cross over the river, hopefully the log is still in the same place. We had to search the shoreline for a few minutes.
Picnic
11,293 ft
Good spot for a break
Once you have completed the majority of the climb out of the canyon you'll find this area which is a great spot for a break.
Intersection
11,250 ft
Day 4 Intersection hidden
Get off road, left turn. Photo is looking back on the intersection we missed.
Intersection
10,413 ft
Chugchilan
The town of Chugchilan
Comments (11)
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Hi Port Flora,
I'm planning to do the loop this year and have a question. What's the water availability? Did you carry the water for the 4 day or did you had opportunities to reload at the hostels?
thanks
Water is not a problem, you can reload at the hostels and at the small villages you walk through. There are even a few homes along the way with signs posted indicating what they have for sale (often water). Some Spanish may be required.
Good luck, it is a great hike!
Oh, that's amazing! Thanks for the reply. Spanish is my native language so I won't have problems here. :)
Very beautiful hike, and easy to follow even without Wikilocs. The most difficult day for us was the Chugchilan to Quilotoa one. The track that is marked here is the "extreme" route. You have to go down a cliff and cross a river, which was not easy with big backpacks. There is an alternative easier route which I would recommend to follow. Hostels along the way will be able to give you directions.
There are a couple of different ways to do the Chugchilan to Quilotoa section, using Wiki's classifications I would rate the path we took as moderate, maybe difficult if weather conditions were really bad.
Personally, I found the hostels directions frustrating and we ran into people who got lost, or others that ended up taking a bus or taxi to get back on track. The hostels instruction sheets were often missing distances so you may be looking for a stream for a hour or more, statements were confusing (turn at the green house) and you had no idea which direction (north, south, east, west) you were going in. Also, while there were signs along the way they were often misleading and were attempting to steer you in the direction of their hostel or restaurant.
Wiki gave us great information (how far we had come, how far to go, how much climb remained, what direction...) we felt it was a valuable tool that added to our enjoyment of the hike.
I will be visiting this trail soon. This is my first time using the wikiloc app., so forgive my basic questions. This is really just a general question about use of these maps and app.. I'm trying to get a grasp on how this works in remote areas. I assume that there isn't mobile phone connection in this area of Ecuador, so how do these maps work using the wikiloc app on the iPhone? I'm trying to wrap my head around how to use this. Thank you for any insight that you can offer!
It uses the GPS on your phone, no cellular required, in fact I would recommend airplane mode to help preserve battery life.
Make sure you are familiar with the app. Go for a walk in your neighbourhood and record it.... then follow it to see how it works (before you get to Ecuador).
It's a great hike, enjoy!
Ah! Ok, will do. Thank you for the information!
I have followed this trail verified View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Moderate
Great hike, much better and faster than the maps supplied by hostels.
Don't forget to stay at Lulu llama hostel! It's the best one I've stayed at in months.
I have followed this trail View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Moderate
Challenging terrain but doable. GPS track essential as much of the trail is faint or with multiple options
We used this GPX for the final part from Quilotoa to Tigua. The route was relatively accurate but the section across the river at the bottom of the valley was not useful.
You should ignore the way this route goes and follow the path marked along on OSM and cross the river at the marked wooden bridge. There is no other crossing.
The section of path after the river crossing up to the road is accurate and you should follow the GPS route carefully as you want to be away from the river relatively soon.