Your Travel Experience with Galapagos PRO
Day 1
Arrival in Quito and drive to Otavalo
Arrival to Quito. We meet our guide at the airport of Quito and immediately continue to Otavalo. This colorful small town is located at 2500 m in the north of Quito. Here we will stay at a traditional hotel near the famous market. Overnight stay at Hotel Indio Inn in Otavalo.
Day 2
Hike at Cuicocha Lake (Ascent: 350 Hm/Descent: 350 Hm) B/L/-
After breakfast we will drive up to Cuicocha Lake (3100 m) and go around it in 4 hours. We take our time because here begins our acclimatization for the planned summit ascents. We enjoy the diverse flora and the magnificent views. After completing the loop, we will return to Otavalo and take a stroll through the colorful market of Otavalo.
Overnight stay at Hotel Indio Inn in Otavalo.
Day 3
Fuya Fuya Hike - Pukyu Pamba (4200m, +450Hm/-450Hm) B/L/D
Drive to the Cotopaxi National Park to the Limpiopungo Lagoon, where we start our five-hour hike to the central peak of Rumiñahui, which means "stone face". If the weather is good, there is a good chance to see a large Andean condor in flight. Opposite rises the majestic Cotopaxi. In the afternoon we will be back at our vehicle and drive home to our accommodation. Overnight stay at Hotel Cuello de Luna.
Day 4
Ascent of Imbabura volcano (4609m, +1000Hm / -1000Hm) B/L/D
We climb the long extinct volcano Imbabura as a day tour. The mountain has mythological significance for the local population. At sunrise we start our ascent through the páramo, the ubiquitous grassland in the highlands of Ecuador. We enjoy the great views of the town of Ibarra and the snow-capped Cayambe. Then the trail becomes rockier and more exposed, via short and easy climbs we reach the crater rim and finally the summit. Descent and overnight stay in Pukyu Pamba.
Day 5
Drive to the Cayambe refuge "Ruales Oleas Mountains Hut" (4650m) B/-/D
Along the old "Panamericana" we drive via Zuleta and Ayora to Cayambe and further, past rose farms and haciendas to the foot of the Cayambe volcano. After an adventurous drive on a gravel and scree road high above the valley we finally reach the Cayambe hut at 4650m. Overnight stay at the Cayambe hut.
Day 6
Ascent of Cayambe Volcano (5790m) (+1140 Hm / -1140Hm) B/L/D
At midnight we get up and after a light breakfast we climb towards the Cayambe summit. In the early morning we have the best chance of good weather conditions and thus a super view from the summit. The ascent is technically easy and leads over glaciers; ice axe and crampons facilitate the progress. We are guided by our mountain guides on the rope. After the descent we drive down to the valley and on the Panamericana south to an original hacienda near Cotopaxi. Overnight stay at a local hacienda.
Day 7
Rest and recovery day (3125m) B/-/D
Today is for rest before the rigorous Chimborazo climb, optional activities are possible (including MTB tour, excursion to the volcanic crater lake Quilotoa, visit to a rose farm). Overnight stay at a local hacienda.
Day 8
Chimborazo - Ascent to high camp at 5300m (+500HM) B/L/D
Today we drive to the "Reserva de Producción Faunistica Chimborazo", the vicuña reserve located at the foot of the Chimborazo. We reach a beautiful high plateau where free-ranging vicuñas graze. From the Carrel hut at 4800m we climb to the high camp at 5300m. We carry our own personal equipment including sleeping bag and mat. (Tents and food are provided and do not have to be carried). The mountaineering highlight is the ascent of Chimborazo, an extinct volcano with many individual craters and five peaks. Alexander von Humboldt considered it the highest mountain in the world, in fact it is - but only as seen from the center of the earth. Alexander von Humboldt failed in his attempt to climb the volcano. The first climber of the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper, then succeeded in 1880 also this summit as the first to conquer. Overnight stay in tents in the high camp.
Day 9
Summit day at Chimborazo (6268m, +980Hm / -980Hm) B/L/D
After midnight we leave for the summit, 5 - 7 hours it is from the high camp to the highest point of Ecuador, the 6268 m high Chimborazo. From the top we have a magnificent view to the mountains of the previous days, to the Illinizas and the Cotopaxi, deep below us lies Riobamba. For the descent to the high camp we need another 3 to 4 hours. Overnight stay in the high camp.
Day 10
Summit day at Chimborazo (6268m +980Hm / -1480Hm) and drive to Quito B/L/-
Today we have a 2nd chance to climb the Chimborazo summit. We descend into the valley and drive back to Quito.