Cotopaxi Day Trip

from Quito

Pick up at several hotels located in the 3 main areas of the city of Quito:

La Carolina Park, Plaza Foch, Plaza Grande
Pickups are between 07h00 a 08h00 am
End of the tour between 7 pm approximately, depending on the traffic on the roads.

The Cotopaxi volcano is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. It is located in the area called ¨Avenida de los Volcanes¨, on our one-day tour you will be able to see this almost perfect snow-capped cone of 5,897 meters above sea level, the second highest volcano from Ecuador.

Full Day Trip to Cotopaxi

Pickups

We will make the pick-ups at several hotels located in the 3 main areas of Quito.
If you want to be picked up from another point further away, we can do it with an additional payment, you have to write to us and we will coordinate your boarding.
Pick ups are always reconfirmed until the night before the tour departure, if one day before the departure of the tour, if you have yet to receive the confirmation, you can write to WhatsApp at 0983359-796.

Machachi town stop

We begin our journey south along the Pan-American highway, we will make the first stop in Machachi where you can enjoy a delicious breakfast (Breakfast not included), there are several options that you can buy, as well as snacks and drinks for the road, since lunch it will be late in the afternoon.
At this stop you can also use the bathrooms and the ATM. It is preferable to carry cash to make the payment in restaurants and craft shops since most do not accept payment by credit card.

Cotopaxi National Park

We continue our trip to the Cotopaxi National Park, along the way you will be able to observe landscapes of the Andean paramo, upon arrival at the park the guide will register and we will be ready to enjoy this incredible place.

Limpiopungo lagoon

The first stop is in the Limpiopungo lagoon, it is located at 3,800 meters above sea level and covers approximately 200 hectares. Around the lagoon there are a large number of reed plants, as well as native medicinal plants. You can also see Andean gulls flying around the lagoon, ducks, curiquingues and other birds.

Mariscal Sucre Interpretation Center

We will visit the Mariscal Sucre Interpretation Center located at 4,810 masl, it has several exhibition rooms, a souvenir shop and a cafeteria. Here you will find an exhibition of photographs and information about the Cotopaxi volcano.

Volcano parking

We will go up to the parking lot at 4,500 masl to begin our walk to the José Rivas refuge. In the parking lot it is very common to see moorland foxes and Curiquingues.

Trek to José Rivas Refuge 4.864 masl

At this stop our adventure begins walking in the second highest volcano in Ecuador, the walk up and down can last between two hours and two and a half hours depending on your physical condition and weather conditions, remember that the most important thing is to enjoy the path and beautiful scenery.
Finally we will arrive at the José Rivas Refuge, where you will be able to enjoy an incredible view and depending on the season you will be able to observe the snow up close. The refuge has bathrooms, coffee shop services, we recommend you to have a coca tea so you don’t suffer from the altitude, you will also have food options, remember to bring cash since they do not accept other forms of payment.
In this place you can also stamp your passport with the official Cotopaxi stamp so that you always remember that you made this hike to the second highest volcano in Ecuador.

Stop for lunch (late lunch)

Finally we will make a stop for lunch (Lunch not included) at a farm near Cotopaxi, with various options from tourist menus to typical dishes, we recommend you try the rich potato locro for the cold.

Return to Quito

Return to Quito for disembarkation in the same boarding places.
Note: The order of the visits may vary according to weather conditions.

It includes

Private touristic transportation
Pickups and drop off from some hotels in Quito
Bilingual guide (Spanish and English)
Entrance to the National Park
Visit to Mariscal Sucre Interpretation Center
Guided walk at Limpiopungo lake
Hike to the first refuge José Rivas at 15.744 ft

Not included

Food
Tips
Others

Recommendations

Wear warm clothes, walking shoes, face mask, glasses, water, cap, gloves, scarf.
If you wish to have a stamp in your passport when visiting Cotopaxi, bring the original passport, otherwise bring a copy or photo of the passport.

Recent travelers reviews

Laura N

2023-11-22

Lo pasamos genial! Tuvimos mucha suerte de tener a Mauro y Mauricio como nuestros guías!!! Lo pasamos realmente bien y tuvimos tiempo suficiente para subir al refugio de Cotopaxi y también se aseguraron de que fuéramos juntos!!! Había muy buena vibe! Nos gustó también mucho el sitio donde comimos y poder darle de comer a las Alpacas 🙂 muy recomendado!!!!

Christina

2023-09-26

i would strongly recommend this day tour! our guide was amazing!! i learned so much the entire day. i would strongly recommend this day tour!!

Edgar P

2023-09-20

Un viaje muy especial al Cotopaxi El tour fue muy completo e interesante, la ruta hacia el cotopaxi ofrece muchas vistas espectaculares y se consiguen excelentes fotos. La subida al cotopaxi es algo pesada pero nuestra guía Dany nos dió tips para que no fuera tan difícil y todo el tiempo nos esperaba si nos quedabamos atras, también nos contó mucha información sobre el Cotopaxi y los demás volcanes, además nos contó varias leyendas muy interesantes. Un tour muy recomendado sobre todo con Dany.

Sally M

2023-08-26

Beautiful day Enjoyable day. Tour guide arrived in time to pick us up and made sure we had everything we needed during the day. The walk into the crater was beautiful but if you're older, you'll need to take your time and watch your footing. Hiking sticks helped. Unless you are in peak condition, be sure to reserve a horse for the ride up. Even the 20 something's were breathing hard and resting a lot. I would definitely recommend this tour. Great company and very organized.

Elainn

2023-08-18

Una aventura El tour estuvo muy bien, con tiempo para adaptarse a la altura y demás. Lamentablemente el clima no ayudó ya que había mucho viento. Eso hizo que la subida al refugio fuera un poco más complicada. Igual, este hecho acrecentó el sentido de aventura (aunque no obtuve las mejores fotos del volcán). Al descenso nos encontramos con dos zorros. A la hora del almuerzo fuimos a un sitio donde uno podía alimentar a las llamas y a los patos. Muy completo todo.

Elainn

2023-08-18

Un día perfecto Originalmente había contratado dos tours con la empresa, pero lo pasé tan bien que agregué uno nuevo. El tour a Quilotoa estuvo genial. Muy completo y bien organizado. Muy buena comunicación previa a la salida. Además me olvidé los lentes de sol en la combi y al otro día me los llevaron a la recepción del hostal. Jess, la guía, fue fantástica. ¡Gracias Mauricio también (él encontró mis lentes)! Hermosos paisajes y tuve la oportunidad de subir a una mula para ahorrarme la subida empinada de Quilotoa.

Lindy

2023-08-11

Fun day on Cotopaxi! My family of 4 (youngest child 11) really enjoyed this tour. Josue was very enthusiastic and kind. The hike was definitely challenging due to altitude and cold wind, but the hot chocolate at the top was delicious and worth the hike. Lunch on the way home was also very good. Overall a great day.

QQQ99999

2023-08-06

Great Tour to Cotopaxi National Park - Irene was a fantastic tour guide! We recently took a tour to Cotopaxi from Quito (booked thru Viator) offered by the Quito Tour Bus company with extended family (party of nine so we had the van to ourselves). Irene was a fantastic guide for our tour. She kept the entire trip both fun and educational! We made a stop inside Cotopaxi National Park that allowed us to pick up the necessary outerwear to make the hike to Refugio José Rivas (our luggage hadn't arrived with us in Quito so we didn't have appropriate clothing for the hike). Once we got to the trailhead, not all of us wanted to hike to the Cotopaxi base camp (Refugio José Rivas) using the same trail and she did a great job of keeping an eye on both groups as we ascended (Pro Tip: Ascend using the switchback trail and descend using the more direct but steeper and looser trail just below the hut). We made a stop at the lagoon on the way out and then stopped for lunch (there were a number of options that we could try on the menu) and some of us tried eating guinea pig while others settled for chicken plates, etc. Great time! So glad we did the tour.

Elysa D

2023-08-06

Exhilarating Hike to Cotopaxi Base Camp We had a beautiful day at Cotopaxi National Park, so that we were very fortunate in that. The views of Cotopaxi were stunning as we got closer. The hike to the Base Camp was challenging because of the high altitude. We began at the parking lot at 14,700' and reached the Refugio Jose Rivas at 15,953' to be exact. We are in our 60s and fit hikers and we were well acclimatized having been in Ecuador for 3 weeks before this tour. There were people who had just arrived in Ecuador who did not do well with the altitude and had to descend, so know yourself and be wise about the elevation. We wore hiking boots and used our poles, which helped a lot because much of the soil is soft and unstable. Otherwise, it was a short but exhilarating hike to the Camp - it took us 30 minutes. Others took longer and, as I said, some turned back. The weather was fabulous on our ascent but turned for the worse while we were at the Camp. The clouds came in and our descent was foggy and drizzly with little visibility. After the hike, we toured the museum and walked the lake and had a nice lunch. It was a great day and our guide, Josue, was fabulous and took great care of everyone.

Bhushan S

2023-07-29

Amazing tour Cotapaxi is amazing and a must visit - one of the most beautiful volcanos/mountains you could see let alone climb. The guide, tour company and group were just fabulous. Such personalized attention to detail and I cannot complement them enough. Thanks to my guide Jessica and our driver Freddy