Cotopaxi One Day Trip
per person
Cotopaxi One Day Trip. Cotopaxi National Park covers 33,393 hectares of land and is the second most visited tourist destination in Ecuador. Its proximity to Quito makes it a top attraction to visit on a one-day tour.
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Day 1: Machachi – Cotopaxi National Park visit - Machachi
Our adventure starts at the Hostel Casa del Montañero in Machachi at 07:30am. We take a rural road for an hour in the direction of the north entrance of Cotopaxi National Park. Once in the park, we can see several volcanoes such as Cotopaxi, Sincholagua, and Rumiñahui. We can also admire remnants and rocks from the last eruption that happened 150 years ago.
Our first visit is to Limpiopungo lagoon, where we have a short 15-minute walk to the pier to see the local flora and fauna. We then continue in the car for 40 minutes to arrive at the Cotopaxi car park, located at 4,500 masl, from here we take the necessary things for a hike of approximately 45 minutes to the refuge, Refugio José F. Rivas. At the refuge we enjoy our packed lunch along with hot drinks and, after a well-deserved rest, continue energized uphill to visit the Cotopaxi volcano glacier located at 5,000 masl. Here we take in the incredible view, take lots of photographs, and finally return by the same route to the car for the return journey to Machachi.