Cayambe 18,996 ft. / 5790 m
Cotopaxi 19,347ft. / 5897m
Chimborazo 20,548ft./
6263m
NOTE : Volcanic activity alert / Illiniza Norte added as Cotopaxi replacement - Illiniza Norte (5126 m / 16818 ft)
South America
13 Days
Intermediate
$4900 per person
Ecuador is situated on the west coast of South America, which is home to some of the world's most impressive volcanoes (close to 98) due to the constant friction of the pacific oceanic plates with the northern Andes. Most of them are stratovolcanoes, that means they have relatively steep sides, conical shaped and are made up of multiple layers of lava and tephra.
K1 Adventures brings Ecuador expedition to your travel diary, where we offer exquisite opportunity to visit the three famous iconic volcanoes, namely :
All you have to do is just reach us and pack your gear for this thrilling trio adventure.
Begins by your arrival in Quito(elevation of 9,184 ft), the capital of Ecuador. Our representative will transfer you to the hotel. You are free to relax at the hotel. Dinner will be served. The following morning, our staff will meet and guide you.
The staff will brief you about the expedition at breakfast. We shall explore the streets of Quito by visiting some ancient sites such as the basilica, Santo Domingo. You can click photographs and then we will make our way to the famous viewpoint of Quito, the El Panecillo. We shall drive back to the hotel in Quito in the evening and rest.
Today, we will head for this famous hike to Pasochoa,after breakfast. The purpose of this trip is to adapt to the climate. Pasochoa is an eroded volcano lying inactive since the ice age. We will break for lunch around afternoon. It is interesting to note the fleet of condors inhabiting this region. We shall return to our accommodation in Quito for the night, followed by dinner service.
We will acclimatise further by visiting Pichincha for a hike by a cable car. This impressive region is situated at an altitude of 13,200 ft. This hike will take four to five hours (roundtrip). We will have lunch just before afternoon. We shall drive back to our accommodation in Quito for the night.
Another wonderful day, where we begin a 65 km drive to the village of Cayambe (15,249 ft) in a jeep/ van, which takes three hours , before this majestic mountain comes into view. From the village, it is a short walk to the cottage (mountain refuge). Before making our way to the cottage, we will have lunch. We will have a session/ training wherein you would get a handson of various climbing equipment such as an ice axe, snow climbing, crampon methods, prussiking and self arresting. You can relax in the evenings and enjoy the views. We shall spend the night at the cottage and relish the dinner.
Finally, we will be making up to the summit of Cayambe. The day begins early with breakfast, as we gradually start making our way towards the peak, which takes six hours. Having reached the summit, we will spend some time , before descending to Hacienda Guachala. This descent takes three hours and will be spending the night here. Yes, we know it would be tiring for many of us, but then such expeditions are experienced once in a lifetime.
Since this is the day meant for rest, however, we shall use this day to visit Cotopaxi national park. It is fun getting on the vehicles. We shall have lunch in a restaurant and the hub for our accommodation would be at Tambopaxi, for the night.After dinner we sleep early.
It’s time to head to the Cotopaxi hut at 4.600 m / 15,095 ft, in vehicles. As we arrive at our hut during lunch time, we will take some rest till evening and start our climb during the night. The whole national park is known for its rich wildlife and remoteness. Without a doubt Cotopaxi has the largest number of clear days amongst the high peaks of Ecuador. Our accommodation is set at Jose Rivas Refuge, which takes an hour by walk.
An important day for us. We embark for the summit of Cotopaxi around 1A.M soon after breakfast, with necessary climbing gear. The route to the summit takes us through fissures and crevices and in seven hours we will reach our target at 5,897m/19,347ft. Once at the peak, we can witness the beauty of the Amazon basin. Our descent will take two to three hours. From there, we drive to Banos in the afternoon, which will be our hub for the next two nights for rest. This gives us an excellent window to get set for the Chimborazo expedition.
We all love to rest. Hence, we will be spending some fantastic time relaxing in Banos and spend some intriguing time visiting the waterfalls and the plateau, after a tasty breakfast.. You can indulge in one of the famous Canopy rides of Ecuador. The day is filled with excitement and relaxation. We shall head back to our accommodation in Banos. Lunch and dinner is also on the cards.
The day begins by our ride to Plaza Roja which is at an altitude of 4,852m / 15,914 ft. Once we arrive, it is time for lunch and then followed by a three hour trek to the high camp at an elevation of 5,350m/17,300ft. After some rest, we shall begin preparing for our climb tonight. Dinner will be prepared by the staff.
After breakfast, we will begin our ascent to Chimabarazo via the Castle Saddle route, since it has less rocks and thus makes it easy to climb. In six hours we reach this special point known as Whymper summit, which presents some ultra magnificent views of Ecuador (6310 m / 20,702 ft). The descent to our base camp takes close to three hours, where we will rest for some time and further head back to Plaza Roja and the vehicles would be taking us to the valley.
Just to play safe, we shall keep this as an extra spare summit day (in case of unfavourable weather conditions). The vehicle is always available for your transfer to Quito.
NOTE : Volcanic activity alert / Illiniza Norte added as Cotopaxi replacement - Illiniza Norte (5126 m / 16818 ft)
Begins by your arrival in Quito(elevation of 9,184 ft), the capital of Ecuador. Our representative will transfer you to the hotel. You are free to relax at the hotel. Dinner will be served. The following morning, our staff will meet and guide you.
The staff will brief you about the expedition at breakfast. We shall explore the streets of Quito by visiting some ancient sites such as the basilica, Santo Domingo. You can click photographs and then we will make our way to the famous viewpoint of Quito, the El Panecillo. We shall drive back to the hotel in Quito in the evening and rest.
Today, we will head for this famous hike to Pasochoa,after breakfast. The purpose of this trip is to adapt to the climate. Pasochoa is an eroded volcano lying inactive since the ice age. We will break for lunch around afternoon. It is interesting to note the fleet of condors inhabiting this region. We shall return to our accommodation in Quito for the night, followed by dinner service.
We will acclimatise further by visiting Pichincha for a hike by a cable car. This impressive region is situated at an altitude of 13,200 ft. This hike will take four to five hours (roundtrip). We will have lunch just before afternoon. We shall drive back to our accommodation in Quito for the night.
This morning the vehicle will pick you up from Quito to La Virgen (4071 m / 13000 ft), which takes 2.5 hours. La Virgen is the gateway to Illiniza Norte (5126 m / 16813 ft.). We first begin our hike from La Virgen to the Refuge Nuevos Horizontes Illinizas, which takes 4 hours. Once at the camp, we shall rest for the night.
We shall begin early (4-5 A.M) to aim for the Illiniza Norte. With all the gear ready, we will embark on this 3-4 hour trek to the summit of Illiniza Norte. After admiring the scenery and views from the top of the summit of Illiniza Norte, we will start our descent back to the camp and will be staying in the accommodation for the night.
We will start early for Quito which takes 2 hours in the vehicle. After lunch break, we shall continue to the village of Cayambe, which is just an hour drive from Quito. From the village, we will trek to the refuge / accommodation and rest for the night and prepare for the next day’s trek.
We shall check our climbing and trekking skills at the Hermoso glacier at Cayambe
The climb to Cayambe (5790m / 18996 ft.) takes six hours and therefore we will begin early for the ascent. The views from the top are just stunning. The climb to the summit of Cayembe is usually better compared to other mountains and in this case we are at 35 degree climb. Later, we will start our descent to the camp and enjoy the meal.
We start early for Quito and on for Chimborazo refuge camp via Machachi, which takes 2.5 hours. En route we will be passing through the town of Riobamba. Our target is the Carrel lodge (4800 m / 15700 ft) for the night. Meals are included at the accommodation.
We will start early for the summit of Chimborazo, which will take close to 6.5 hours before we arrive at the Whymper peak (6310 m / 20702 ft.). The peak and its surroundings are covered in a blanket of snow, with a large crater. We shall later make our way back to the refuge and rest for the night
We save this day for emergencies, just in case the climatic conditions are not good.
We head back to Quito with all our memories and moments. You can indulge in shopping and more sightseeing if you feel you missed something
Transfer to Marsical Sucre International Airport, Quito for your flight back home.
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| Dates | June 9 - June 21, 2023 | ||
| July 28 - August 9, 2023 | |||
| November 17 - November 29, 2023 | |||
| January 5 - January 17, 2024 | |||
| Cost | 4900 USD per person | ||
| Deposit Amount | 1470 USD | ||
