volcanoes – Page 2 – besthike.com

February 8, 2026

Climbing Ruku Pichincha, Quito, Ecuador

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.

A terrific way to acclimatize to altitude from Quito is to take one of the highest aerial lifts in the world, rising from 3,117 m (10,226 ft) to 3,945 m (12,943 ft).

It’s called the TelefériQo. $9 ticket in 2026. Get there close to opening in the morning at 9 or 10am.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

From the top, you continue up as high as you like.

There are great views of Quito below.

The trail is easy walking through grassland.

Ruku peak is 4,698 metres (15,413 ft) — but the top is a scramble. You might want a helmet.

At any time, clouds may roll in. It could rain or hail on short notice. The TelefériQo shuts down in high wind or hard rain, trapping folks up top until service can be resumed.

I ended up climbing to about 4500m.

Once it got too rocky, I stopped. Crashed my drone. 😀 And started down.

Pichincha is a stratovolcano in Ecuador. The capital Quito wraps around its eastern slopes.

The two highest peaks of the mountain are Wawa Pichincha (Kichwa wawa child, baby / small, Spanish spelling Guagua Pichincha) (4,784 metres (15,696 ft)) and Ruku Pichincha (Kichwa ruku old person, Spanish Rucu Pichincha) (4,698 metres (15,413 ft)).

Both peaks are visible from the city of Quito and both are popular acclimatization climbs. Wawa Pichincha is usually accessed from the village of Lloa outside of Quito. Ruku is typically accessed from the TelefériQo on the western side of Quito.

related – AllTrails – Ruku Pichincha

February 4, 2026February 2, 2026

Hiking to Cotopaxi Base Camp, Ecuador

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.

Processed by: Helicon Filter;By I, Ondřej Žváček, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18463942

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

February 2, 2026February 2, 2026

Scrambling Rumiñahui Volcano, Ecuador

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.

We signed on for a climb of Rumiñahui Central with Secret Garden Cotopaxi.

Spoiler. Lexi, Tahel, and myself all made it to 4,643m. Super happy here. Our guide was terrific.

Rumiñahui is considered a lead-up to Cotopaxi (5,897m) and then Chimborazo (6,263–6,310m).

Rumiñahui is a dormant, heavily eroded stratovolcano 4,721 metres (15,489 ft) above sea level.

Situated in the Andes mountains 40 km south of Quito, Ecuador, it is overshadowed by its famous neighbour Cotopaxi.

This mountain is in Cotopaxi National Park, so we drove directly towards the big peak. Excellent weather early morning.

We parked at Lake Limpiopungo at approximately 3,850m. Many different species of birds alight here.

Headed to that central peak.

We saw rabbits at the beginning while climbing up through paramo.

And condors floating in the updraft.

On the way down, our guide spotted wild horses below.

We had amazing views of Cotopaxi.

I call it a scramble because this mountain is quite jagged. We used our hands quite a bit at the top. Tahel put spare socks on her hands. I used a buff for protection. None of us had opted to carry gloves.

Check this rugged mountaineer.

Ready for Kilimanjaro, coming up next.

The most surprising moment of the trip was having a caracara land on the summit just as we were celebrating.

A bit slow getting to the top, we actually ran down much of the mountain as Tahel had to catch a bus back to Quito at 3pm.

We stopped to chat with this group at 1pm. Just starting up.

Well … they had horrific hard rainfall in the afternoon. You really want to finish your hiking by 2pm in the Andes.

Click PLAY or watch our adventure on YouTube.

February 1, 2026

Hiking Near Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.

I flew to Ecuador for 3 weeks hiking & climbing in preparation for Kilimanjaro.

A good decision.

Logistics getting to and from trailheads is complicated in this nation.

BEST for me was adventuring out of Secret Garden Cotopaxi Hostel ➙ perhaps my favourite hostel in the world. At around 3,800 metres (12,500 feet), you’ll feel some altitude symptoms for sure if coming from sea level. I’d been in Ecuador for about 9 days and still had minor headaches.

Most popular is a 3-day, 2-night package starting at $120 with transportation from Quito, the capital.

That includes two free guided hikes:

Waterfall Walk
Pasochoa summit

In some ways, the short Waterfall hike is challenging.

You must wear provided rubber boots that don’t have much traction. It’s not uncommon for new visitors at altitude to fall into the muddy creek.

Each day some fool(s) decide to swim the waterfall. But not this fool. Not this day.

The Pasochoa summit hike to 4200m (13,776 ft) is legit high altitude training. Even though you start directly from the hotel.

Best pay attention to the warnings of your very experienced guide.

The start can be muddy and slippery. Some wear rubber boots for the first 45 minutes, or so.

From there, you switch to hiking shoes and climb up through paramo grasslands and primary cloud forest.

Very popular, the route is blazed.

Of course there are terrific views back to the higher volcanoes.

Everyone agreed, the highlight was walking with hostel dogs.

An easy day hike ➙ IF you are acclimatized to altitude. Most days, some who start don’t make it to the top.

January 9, 2026December 26, 2025

Tanzania From Above

Following my Kilimanjaro climb starting Feb. 14, 2026 — I’ll be travelling for a couple of weeks in Tanzania.

It looks spectacular.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

December 13, 2025

Climbing Kilimanjaro February 2026

It’s official.

Feb 14–22, 2026
9 days, 8 nights Machame Route
Zara Tours
5,895 meters (19,341 feet)
$3495 USD

Expensive — but I finally signed on to the single best trekking peak in the world.

I’d long been a fan of hiking vlogger Eric Hanson. When he announced a personally guided adventure — I signed on instantly.

Machame Route (Whiskey Route) for me should be relatively easy. BUT many have to turn back due to altitude sickness symptoms.

My plan is to spend some weeks in Ecuador above 3000m and — hopefully — have some acclimatization ➙ then fly directly to Kilimanjaro airport. Altitude sickness is near impossible to predict. (I’ve never had any despite hiking higher than 6000m many times.)

I’ll stay on in East Africa following Kili. My first visit.

This is the 2nd time I’d signed up for Kilimanjaro. The first was in 2020 — cancelled by Covid.

November 28, 2025November 21, 2025

Mt. Qixing Mountain, Taiwan

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Qixing Mountain (also Cising) stands as the highest and most central peak in Yangmingshan National Park.

All trails are well-maintained with stone steps and converge at the windswept main peak.

The summit is the ultimate reward, offering a magnificent 360-degree panorama of the entire national park, the Taipei cityscape, and the northern coast on clear days.

The national park is known for its cherry blossoms, hot springs, sulfur deposits, fumaroles, venomous snakes, and hiking trails, including Taiwan’s tallest dormant volcano, Qixing (Seven Star) Mountain rising to 1,120 m (3,675 ft).

There are several Visitors Centres, each very helpful in helping you decide on hikes ➙ starting and finishing. Public transportation is super crowded here.

As you can see, clouds covered the peak when I was there. Not unusual.

Stone steps keep you out of the mud in most cases. But they are irregular shapes and sizes.

The summit is often crowded. I didn’t linger long.

Actually, I enjoyed the clouds blowing in and out, sometimes revealing the vista below.

It can get windy up here, of course

Volcanic sediments in this pond give it a milky appearance.

I finished near Lengshuikeng Hot Springs and would love to have finished with a soak. But these Springs have unusual opening hours. Locked when I was there. AND I was worried about getting back to Taipei on the busy tourist buses.

So I simply soaked my feet in the outdoor pothole.

All-in-all, it’s well worth getting out to Yangmingshan National Park if you are ever in Taipei.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

November 8, 2025January 3, 2025

Top 10 Hiking Destinations ➙ Southwest USA

South West USA

Capitol Reef, Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Glen Canyon, White Sands National Monument, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. This part of the world is awesome.

We hike the SW USA every year and have yet to be disappointed.

Fascinating, diverse and mind-boggling. The best WOW geological zone we’ve seen anywhere.

The high desert plateau intersection of the four U.S. states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado Plateau is not the deepest nor largest, but it’s by far the most stunningly beautiful on Earth.

Most of the best slot canyons and natural stone arches in the world are here. A desert, your views are unobstructed. The light is perfect for photography.

The best weather is Oct-Nov, Mar-May. Summers are too hot for most hikers.

Most of the hikes in the Four Corners are short due to lack of water and the real risk of getting lost. People die in this wilderness every year.

Our favourite hike in the Four Corners region is Paria Canyon on the border of Arizona and Utah. You enjoy many days beneath huge walls in a slot canyon.

3 Days Hiking Mt. RInjani, Indonesia

Flora Gonning:

At 3,726 meters, Mount Rinjani is Indonesia’s second-highest volcano and one of the most popular treks in Southeast Asia.

The classic 3-day / 2-night Rinjani trek is famous for its epic summit views, turquoise crater lake (Segara Anak), and hidden hot springs.

But this hike is also notorious for steep cliffs, loose volcanic ash, unpredictable weather, and long, exhausting days – factors that have led to many accidents and even fatalities.

In this video, I take you along on the full Mount Rinjani trek in Lombok, Indonesia – from the crowded trailhead at Sembalun, to the 2am summit push, to descending into the massive caldera.

Hiking Rinjani was both beautiful and brutal, with ash slopes that made every step slide back, camp life above the clouds, and endless hours of climbing and descending.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.