Things to Do in Cotopaxi Province, Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador

5Bob R 5:00 PM Jan 3, 2020

Windy but Spectacular
My wife and I hired a taxi and drove from our friend's house in Quito south to Quilotoa. Took maybe 2 hours with the most spectacular part of the drive after turning west off the PanAm Highway near Latacunga. There was a $2.00 (USD) fee to enter the city and then a short drive to where we parked near some shops. The view of the lake is incredible. Just remember that you are at around 13,000 feet. We at first walked to the end of the street and stood on the rim. The wind was strong enough for me or the driver to hold my wife so she wouldn't get blown over! We walked along the rim to the tourist view area on a wooden walkway. From the overlook balcony you could walk down to where there is a Llama and its owner for pictures with the animal. You could also hike down to the lake which is said to take about and hour. However the hike back up is like coming up out of the Grand Canyon. It takes several hours. At the bottom there are canoes to rent. There is also a hike around the rim but that is saved for a future visit. Well worth the trip if you are in the area.

4nina 5:00 PM Jan 12, 2022

Beautiful place but beware of transport scams!
As a lot of people mentioned this is a must see place in Ecuador. Make sure to take some warm/rain clothes as the weather is unpredictable. I went there on a cold, cloudy day and even then it is worth it (but maybe not ideal to do the whole hike along the lagune). There are busses (2,5 dollars one way) every hour to and from Latacunga, and there’s a sign at the entrance of the village with the schedule (on the back are the busses going back to Latacunga). However, the locals seem to be working together to scam you into paying for more expensive rides. When I was leaving the village, I knew there was supposed to be a bus in 20 minutes. The guy at the reception told me I had to wait for more than an hour and offered some transportation. I reclined and went to the bus stop. A couple stopped their car there and told me I had to wait for at least 2 hours for the bus. They offered to take me to the next town for 5 dollars, where there would be a bus. I was starting to doubt, so I asked a girl sitting next to the bus stop. She told me it would take one or two hours until the bus came. As I was getting suspicious, I decided to just wait for the bus, and sure enough, it came only a few minutes after it was scheduled. If I would have taken the ride from the couple, I would have gotten on the same bus in the next village and it would have cost me more than double (that’s supposing they didn’t have any worse plans). I can imagine Quilatoa had a bad time during the pandemic, because it obviously runs on tourism and I’m happy to buy an alpaca scarf or sweater to support these people. But I don’t see how this outright lying and scamming will help them in the long run…