COTOPAXI CLIMB

Welcome to Ecuador! After you arrive to Ecuador you are free to spend your time as you wish. If you’re coming from the United States, most flights will not land until late evening. We recommend booking a flight with an arrival time of 5pm or later. Use this first evening for rest and relaxation.

Accommodations: Hotel Findlandia

Let the fun begin. On Sunday you’ll have free time to roam Quito. As a group we will take a guided tour downtown and have lunch before departing for our next accommodations located just 1.5 miles from Cotopaxi National Park.

Accommodations: Hacienda Mortiños

Ready to climb? We will be picked up at 6:30am from the Hacienda Mortiños hotel and head into Cotopaxi National Park. Today we’ll climb Rumiñahui. We will start our tour at the edge of the stunning Limpiopungo lagoon at 3900m (12,795ft). We’ll hike to the summit and back in approximately 4-5 hours. The top of the summit sits at 4,700m (15,489 ft). After the summit, we’ll enjoy an afternoon of rest at our hotel.

Accommodations: Hacienda Mortiños

After an early breakfast we’ll head to Ilinizas Reserve. We’ll start our trek at 3,922m (12,870ft). We’ll pass three different vegetation zones as we work our way up up to the refuge (hut) that sits at 4,750m (15 ,675ft). In the refuge we will take a cup of tea, recover, and then continue to the summit of Illiniza Norte (if the weather and mountain conditions allow us). The summit of Illiniza Norte sits at 5,116m (16,785ft). After the day is done, we’ll have climbed around 7-8 hours. This day is an important one to prepare for our climb to Cotopaxi later on. During the evening we’ll rest and relax for the last night at Hacienda Mortiños.

Accommodations: Hacienda Mortiños

We’ll start with a slow morning of relaxation. After an early lunch we’ll begin the drive to Cotopaxi. The road to Cotopaxi through the National Park is unique and you often see wild animals such as horses, bulls, birds, rabbits, and foxes. We’ll end our drive at 4,500m, (14,763ft) where we will leave our jeeps and continue the last 300m (984ft) to our hut by foot. We’ll have an early dinner to allow everyone to get a few hours of sleep before our Cotopaxi wake up call at Midnight.

Accommodations: Refuge José Ribas

The big day of the trip begins shortly after midnight. The trek to Cotopaxi is a complete alpine glacier tour, surrounded by mountains with the lights of the capital in the background. We’ll reach the 5,897m (19,347ft) summit within 5-6 hours. If we’re lucky, we’ll reach the summit by dawn to catch the sunrise. The descent will take us 2-3 hours. After our descent we’ll head to Termas Papallacta where you’ll have time to rest for the evening.

Accommodations: Termas Papallacta

This day is yours to choose how you rest and recover. There will be an optional easy group hike at 9am to loosen sore muscles. Spend your afternoon at the pools or schedule a spa treatment. We will regroup for a farewell dinner at 6pm.

Note: Spa treatments are not included in costs.

Accommodations: Termas Papallacta

It’s time to head back home. After a morning at your leisure, we’ll check out at 10am. On our way back to the airport, we’ll stop for lunch at Cumbayá. After lunch you will be dropped off at the airport. We recommend a flight departure time of 5pm or later. You can choose to extend your accommodations by contacting Termas Papallacta or another stay of choice. If you choose to extend your accommodations, you will need to secure your own transportation back to the airport.