Cotopaxi, Ecuador

The Cotopaxi volcano is impressive, one of the few in the world with a near-perfect cone shape. Full of beautiful landscapes, the surrounding national park is somewhere we were super keen to stay, and we’re really glad we did.

Having stayed at The Secret Garden Quito, we took a free shuttle to their sister hostel in Cotopaxi. We stayed for a few nights and really enjoyed the social atmosphere and simultaneous switching off as there was no wifi – other than for a couple of rationed hours in the evening, in the garage, where people could be spotted huddled over their phones watching TikTok or checking the football score.

Weather:

Wet, muddy, and cold – especially at night! This presented logistical challenges in getting clothes dry in time to re-wear or pack them, handily overcome with the bungee cord I packed acting as a clothes line (plus the heater/dehumidifier in the room doing some heavy lifting).

On our first morning we woke up just before 6am to try and catch the volcano at sunrise, but we were met with a lot of cloud. Fortunately on our last morning we had clear blue skies and a great view.

Where we stayed:

The hostel was very remote – no shops or even other buildings nearby. Our room was a little ‘birdhouse’ cabin, with a large window facing directly towards Cotopaxi volcano. It was compact but cozy.

Best thing we ate:

The hostel did family style meals, with everyone sitting together at the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We’re not sick of each other yet – but it was really nice to chat to others, even when exhausted after a day of hiking. Florence may have found the prospect of this less appealing at times, but she always came round. The food was hearty and filling (big portions). Potato soup, pizzas, tortillas, burgers, minestrone etc.

We had some very fun dinners – especially the first night chatting to a French couple opposite. Her game of choice was ‘guess everyone else’s age’, and once we’d made our guesses she had no hesitation in reaching over, tapping someone on the shoulder, and asking (in a heavy French accent) “how old are you?”…..

Coolest thing we did:

All three hikes we did deserve a mention.

One the first day we hiked to a waterfall, on what turned out to be a surprisingly technical trail. This involved climbing along some rock walls, clinging on to a rope while doing so. It was also raining, but with ample care and attention it was all okay. The waterfall was pretty.

The second day saw us hike a section of the 5897m Cotopaxi volcano. We were driven up to around 4600m, and first hiked up to around 4860m. Chris wasn’t feeling 100% so opted to stay at the mountain refuge at that point, while Florence pushed on with a group to reach the glacier at over 5000m. It was a pretty tough climb but well worth it. Florence still isn’t quite sure what a glacier is, but it was pretty impressive to look at. Chris opted to take a mountain bike for part of the descent – this was an exhilarating ride, both on the mountainside descent and thereafter for a few kilometres through the Andean Páramo grasslands. We saw wild llamas, impressive views, and huge lichen-covered boulders.

Despite waking up with achey legs, we signed up for a third day of hiking, up the Pasochoa mountain. Whilst the summit wasn’t as high at Cotopaxi, at 4200m, there was no vehicular transport to start – just a 700m climb. Wearing the wellies provided, we trudged through thick mud in the visually stunning highland rainforest (every single tree covered in moss, cool fungi, lichen etc). Some flat sections and more Páramo grassland preceded a final push to the top. Once again Chris felt a bit ill and didn’t make it, returning early with one of the guides. Florence carried on to the top and happily though up the rear of the group with another English girl. Leading the charge was an American marine, so Florence didn’t feel too bad about being at the slower end of things. The final stretch involved scrambling over some rocks, which was a little scary, and given there was no view at the top (just cloud), she was left wondering what it was all for. The descent was unrelentingly wet and muddy but at least there was some sense of achievement.