Wednesday Walk Challenge : Hiking almost to the top of the active volcano Cotapaxi in Ecuador

On this wedensday walk, I will take you with me up the Cotapaxi volcano in Ecuador. This active volcano is located in the Andes only an hours drive from Quito. It is among the highest volcanos on our planet (5.897 m). The Cotapaxi National Park is the second largest and, together with Galápagos National Park, one of the most popular to visit in Ecuador. I was based in Quito, the capital. From here it is only an hours drive to the park. I didn't climb to the top. I only did the aprox. Two hour hike to Refugio José Rivas (4.864 m), which is Base Camp and the starting point for climbers.

First climpse of the top

I had booked a day tour that started at 7 AM in Quito. First stop was the visitor center in Cotapaxi National Park. Our guide took time to explain about the park and the volcano taking us around thies small interpretation center. It gave some good background about the geological facts about the area. The Cotopaxi volcano has an almost symmetrical cone shape. It has had several eruptions. From around the 16th century until now, it has erupted more than 50 times. The last eruption was in 2015. It was not a major eruption, but the area was on alert and had to be evacuated. There has also been eruptions before the 16th century, but there are no written records that tell anything about it. The first written records were made by the Spaniards.

Wild horses roaming the slopes

I had seen so many beautilful photos of the snow-capped Cotapaxi volcano, that I antisipated a hike up the mountain to Refugio José Rivas would be a spectacular hike. Our hike was not on a day with clear weather and sunshine. It was rain, fog and clouds. We could see a little piece of the snow-capped peak from a distance, but the closer we got to Refugio José Rivas, the more fog and rain. The photos are taken with my phone. I wanted to carry as lightweight as possible.

Then we drove up to the parking lot, where our hike started. It’s only a 2 km stretch from here and to the hut, but due to the altitude, it took us about two hours. There are two routes we could take. We had to choose the longer and steeper because of a strong wind, which would have made it more challenging. The car park is located at an altitude of 4.600 meters.

Spotting the refuge



Refugio José Rivas

We didn’t notice much of the wind, but unfortunately the visibility was poor. The terrain with loose pebbles also made it a bit tiring. Even though the elevation gain from the carpark to the hut is only 200 m. You do feel the hight altitude. It became necessary to take slow steps and many stops to catch our breath. But at last the whole group arrived. A short rest and a cup of hot chocolate did feel rewarding.

We drove the same way back to the park entrance, but made a short stop at Laguna Limpiopungo. This is a shallow lake at the foot of Rumiñahui volcano. There is a trail circeling the lake. It's quite an easy 2.6 kilometer walk that offers a good opportunity for bird watching.

Last try to get a photo of top of Cotopaxi

There are several viewing platforms along the trail and some have information board showing the birds you might be able to see. The lake attracts a variety of migrating birds. Since I took photos with my phone, I wasn't able to get any good close ups. We were told that it should be possible to se the both the condor, but we were not that lucky. A small bird did come very close as I was walking the trail.

A good day. Too bad about the weather, but we had a great day in the fresh air and spectacular landscape.