Just How Difficult Is The QUILOTOA CRATER LAKE.....Pretty Darn Hard - ECUADOR
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- The QUILOTOA LOOP is 10 kilometres in circumference and at its highest point over 12,000 feet. What's the worst thing that could happen half-way around the climb. For me it would getting hit by THICK FOG that made visibility almost impossible. Well, that's exactly what happened to me and my climbing buddies when we attempted to do the Quilotoa Lake walk.
For many BACKPACKERS and TRAVELERS doing the QUILOTOA CRATER walk is mandatory when visiting ECUADOR. This DORMANT VOLCANO CRATER is based just south of QUITO just past the town of LATACUNGA. It is possible to get a BUS from QUITO to Latacunga and then a second bus which would take you to the Quilotoa crater lake but it takes longer than say a TAXI. Me and a few guys I met at my HOSTEL in Quito decided to spend a little bit extra and get a taxi straight there. It was only $45 split 3 ways and a $5 tip each cos the DRIVER was such a legend. So $20 to get straight there without all the waiting about at bus stations and sitting on a cramped bus.
When we arrived at Quilotoa it was 5pm but we thought we would get a cheeky look at the crater before we done the full tour in the morning. Wrong, when we arrived the entire site, including the small village where backpackers reside was cloaked in thick fog. We went to a lookout point which was famous for getting your picture taken and we could not even see the lake below, literally could not see this huge body of water. We found a cheap HOSTEL (only $9 per night) and called it a night, it was going to be a long day tomorrow.
We woke up early, got ready for the hike and then got breakfast. We were at the start of the walk for 9am, it says it would take between 4 - 6 hours. Let me tell you something......the lake is awesome. The crater is epic. Its one of the greatest sights I have ever seen in my life. Some recommended supplies that you will need:
A Rain Coat.
Sun Cream.
Layers of Clothes (the temperature changes very quickly).
Lots of Water.
Snacks.
Good Climbing Boots (the path is a little rocky)
Now there are a few small stalls halfway around the crater but the prices are very high so take enough supplies with you.
Lets talk about he walk its self, it was tough, like really tough. I am not saying that you have to be a professional climber to make it all the way around the crater but a certain degree of fitness is required. The crater is made up of a series of hills, you will encounter between 12 - 14 of them, the highest one which we nicknamed the "Gringo Killer" is over 12,000 ft tall.
What made our climb even more unique and perilous was the fact that the thick fog which appeared the night before struck us about half way around the climb, it was nuts. At its worst you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. The path way is marked but it the thick fog it is easy to get lost. Ensure that you take your phone with you and download the app "Maps Me", this essentially saved us. Very useful to have a MAP which yo have downloaded should you get lost and have no cell phone data.
We completed the entire crater walk in about 7 hours, to be fair my two friends would have completed it much quicker if it was not for me. I was completely spend and stopped every 5 minutes. An epic day out and I would happily recommend it. But check the weather before departing, you don't want to get hit by the fog like us, or worse rain.
#quilotoa #ecuador #quito
Have to admit not a big fan of dogs roaming everywhere very common in Thailand. Have traveled great distances to visit a place like today only to be disappointed. I can certainly relate to the fog and other issues. But sounds like you had a great adventure there.
it was a blast but so tiring. The fog was something else, just rolled in like it was a movie set and someone activated the fog machine. The dogs in Ecuador are the unfriendliest K-9's I have ever encountered, and had a few in my time. Thanks for watching. 🙂
❤️
What time of year was this?