Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.
A super popular acclimatization hike is a steep, 1,000-meter climb up loose volcanic scree to the base camp of one of the world’s most iconic peaks.
Accessible as a day trip from Quito or — better — via surrounding lodges like Secret Garden Cotopaxi, which is what I did.
We started early morning when the weather is generally better. Picked up mountain bikes en route.
It’s a beautiful part of the world.
One highlight was spotting a “Andean Wolf” on the drive up. And again on the way down the mountain. It looks more like a long-legged fox.
From the parking lot, it’s 45 minutes to 1.5 hours uphill. (Much faster back down to your vehicle.)
Most continue on to reach the glacier at about 5000m.
We were all checking our devices to see if we’d reached 5000m. We did.
One photographer from South Africa had never seen snow. He decided to climb right into the glacier. … Probably not the safest decision.
We then dropped down to the Base Camp refuge (refugio) at 4,864 meters (15,953 feet) for a hot drink and/or soup.
A festive vibe.
We slid back down the mountain in soft, safe ash.
A simple, but memorable day hike.
Safe but exciting to finish was rolling down the mountain road on bikes.
Highly recommended. BUT we had one in our group who felt altitude enough to only go as far as the refuge. That’s typical for most groups. Be cautious.
related – Brooke Beyond trip report
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