Ecuador climbing holiday, Mt Cotopaxi & Mt Chimborazo
| country: | Ecuador |
| location: | Mount Cotopaxi, Andes |
| trip type: | High altitude, very challenging trekking holidays |
| departures: | 2008: 10 Oct, 17 Nov |
| price: | From £1600 (21 days) ex flights. We can arrange UK flights. |
| offers: | Only £1250 (21 days) or £1000 (15 days)! 15% discount for group bookings of four or more people! |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Attempt to climb two of South America's best known mountains, Volcan Cotopaxi and Volcan Chimborazo.
The acclimatisation programme takes you to higher altitudes until you are ready for the challenge of the great Chimborazo (6300 metres), the furthest point from the Earth’s centre. The treks taken before this point will offer you a taste of life in Ecuador’s highlands just as the excellent jungle tour will later show you the lowlands.
After a day in the capital, the tour moves on to Chugchilan for a 4/5 hour acclimatisation trek around Lake Quilotoa. We stay in Chugchilan, in a superb eco-lodge, with treks to the nearby cloud forest and the tiny village of Zumbahua at 3200-3800m.
Your final acclimatisation trek before Cotopaxi (5897m) is on the trail of nearby Volcan Corazon (4788 metres). From there your mountain guides will take you into the Cotopaxi National Park and up to the refuge, where you will sleep and get ready for the ascent at midnight.
Next, after 3 days of relaxation in Banos, you are ready to climb the biggest mountain in Ecuador, Volcan Chimborazo.
Lastly, we move on to Tena and the jungle, staying in cabin and lodge accommodation where you can choose to go white water rafting (Class 4) or sail more serenely down the River Napo and on to Monkey Island. Our tour ends with a few days in Quito for last minute sightseeing!
N.B. We can also arrange a two week itinerary with the same departure dates, £1250 per person
The acclimatisation programme takes you to higher altitudes until you are ready for the challenge of the great Chimborazo (6300 metres), the furthest point from the Earth’s centre. The treks taken before this point will offer you a taste of life in Ecuador’s highlands just as the excellent jungle tour will later show you the lowlands.
After a day in the capital, the tour moves on to Chugchilan for a 4/5 hour acclimatisation trek around Lake Quilotoa. We stay in Chugchilan, in a superb eco-lodge, with treks to the nearby cloud forest and the tiny village of Zumbahua at 3200-3800m.
Your final acclimatisation trek before Cotopaxi (5897m) is on the trail of nearby Volcan Corazon (4788 metres). From there your mountain guides will take you into the Cotopaxi National Park and up to the refuge, where you will sleep and get ready for the ascent at midnight.
Next, after 3 days of relaxation in Banos, you are ready to climb the biggest mountain in Ecuador, Volcan Chimborazo.
Lastly, we move on to Tena and the jungle, staying in cabin and lodge accommodation where you can choose to go white water rafting (Class 4) or sail more serenely down the River Napo and on to Monkey Island. Our tour ends with a few days in Quito for last minute sightseeing!
N.B. We can also arrange a two week itinerary with the same departure dates, £1250 per person
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival Quito.Hotel | |
| Day 2: | Tour of colonial Quito. Hotel | |
| Day 3: | Chugchilan eco-lodge.Horse riding in cloud forest | |
| Day 4: | Trekking Lake Quilotoa.Eco-lodge | |
| Day 5: | Trekking Zumbahua.Eco-lodge | |
| Day 6: | Volcan Corazon trek. Hotel | |
| Day 7-8: | Cotopaxi climb. Refuge, Hotel | |
| Day 9-11: | Banos. Rafting, free day, thermal baths/arts evening. Hotel | |
| Day 12: | Riobamba. Hotel | |
| Day 13: | Chimborazo climb. Refuge. | |
| Day 14: | Free day Riobamba. Hotel | |
| Day 15: | Tena. Hotel | |
| Day 16: | Llanganates National Park. Cabins | |
| Day 17: | Jungle trek. Jungle lodge. | |
| Day 18: | Rafting (Class 4) or Monkey Island/River Napo. Hotel | |
| Day 19-20: | Quito. Hotel | |
| Day 21: | Quito. Depart |
how this holiday makes a difference
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On this holiday we stay in hostels that are either Ecuadorian owned or make a significant contribution to their local community, such as the excellent eco-lodge near Lake Quilotoa.
In line with our strong stance on responsible tourism, all mountain guides on this trip are local Ecuadorians, picked for their excellent indigenous knowledge of the area and high degree of training. This makes for a more enlightening experience as you learn of the country's flora, fauna and local culture first hand. By booking this tour, you will have a wonderful holiday whilst helping to support Ecuadorian service providers, small businesses, boat owners and other poor people in communities throughout Ecuador. A percentage donation is also made to the SOS Children’s charity that runs several orphanages in Quito. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |