Quilotoa Loop

The Quilotoa Loop is Ecuador's premier multi-day trek — a 36 km village-to-village walk through the central Andean highlands south of Quito, finishing at the rim of the Quilotoa caldera, a 250 m-deep volcanic crater filled with a sulphurous turquoise lake. Three days, three Indigenous-Kichwa villages with family-run hostels, and a 1,100 m net climb from the riverside town of Sigchos to the 3,900 m crater rim.

The route is walked south, from Sigchos through Isinliví and Chugchilán to Quilotoa, so the trip ends with the dramatic reveal of the crater on day 3. Day 1 is the gentlest: a 10 km descent into the Toachi river canyon and a climb back out to Isinliví, with a famous suspension bridge across the river midway. Day 2 traces the high pastures and small farming hamlets above Chugchilán; the second half climbs steeply out of the canyon. Day 3 begins with a sharp climb through cloud-forest to the crater rim, then follows the rim trail counterclockwise to Quilotoa village — the final hour walks along the lip of the crater with the lake 250 m below, the most dramatic landscape on the trek. From Quilotoa, buses run hourly back to Latacunga and on to Quito.

The loop is walked year-round but May to September is drier and easier. The route is well-trodden but not formally marked; most hikers use offline GPS apps (Maps.me or AllTrails) for navigation, or hire a local guide for $20–40 per day. Family-run hostels in each village ($15–25 per night with dinner and breakfast) are the standard accommodation — book the night before by phone, or just turn up. The villages also run a luggage-transfer service between hostels for $5–10 per bag, so most hikers walk with daypacks. Altitude is real — Sigchos sits at 2,800 m and the crater rim is 3,900 m. Spend a couple of nights in Quito (2,850 m) first to acclimatise.