Ecuador eco lodge accommodation
| country: | Ecuador |
| location: | Chugchilán, Cotopaxi Province |
| price: | From US $70 (single), US $50 (double), US $45 (triple) or US $40 (quad) per person inc private bathroom, dinner, B&B, & tax. Rooms with shared bathrooms are slightly less. US $25 (shared bunkrooms). 10% ECO discount for guests travelling by bike |
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Perched on a hillside just outside the rural village of Chugchilán, Cotopaxi, Ecuador, the guesthouse offers visitors all the comforts of home while exploring the high Andes.
The inn features gourmet vegetarian food, some of which is produce onsite from its organic gardens. Dinner is served family-style in the home-like lodge, around a large table. You'll be part of the family where there are always second helpings! Treat yourself to home baked chocolate brownies, banana bread and oatmeal cookies and always free tea and coffee.
After a day of hiking and exploring, enjoy the comfortable chalet-like lodge, relax around self-designed woodstove fireplaces, play scrabble and sip a glass of Ecuadorian rum or a hot chocolate, pamper yourself with hot showers, delight in gourmet vegetarian meals, and leave your tensions behind in the wood-fired sauna.
The charm of the inn is in its size; catering to individual travellers, not to tour groups. The inn is intimate with 8 private rooms; each with one double bed on the ground floor and another double bed in the loft. Some of the rooms have more beds and are prefect for families. All the private rooms have woodstove fireplaces. There is also one communal bunkhouse with 10 beds and fantastic views.
Staying true to the eco-philosophy and sustainability of the inn; there are now 5 private rooms with private bathrooms that all have composting toilets with a view and recycle gray-water.
Chugchilán is a day-hiker's paradise. Walks range from a half hour to a full day and incorporate several micro-climates. Experience the real Ecuador in this safe and rural location. Hike through the Rio Toachi Canyon, enjoy patch work fields of the sierra, walk on top of the world in the high grasslands of the paramó, and enter the eerie, humid, cloud forest of the Iliniza Ecological Reserve.
Altitudes range from 8,000 to 12,500 feet (2500 to 3850 meters) making it easy to acclimatize and train for Ecuador's higher peaks. ‘Day’ hiking means you can experience the fantastic rugged scenery of the Andes for several hours and return each afternoon to the lodge and the comforts of home-cooked food, warm beds and hot showers. The 5 hour hike from Laguna Quilotoa, an active emerald volcanic crater lake at 12,500 feet (3850 meters), to the inn is considered one of the best day hikes in Ecuador.
Horseback riding Affordable horseback rides in Ecuador that range from 4 to 5 hours for only US $12 - walk, trot or gallop across the high altitude Paramó or descend steeply into canyons.
All riders are welcome, from novices to experts. Horseback rides can be tailored to specific needs and are always accompanied by a local guide.
Mountain biking
Cycling at altitude, in thin air, with the landscape's dramatic contours, can be quite a challenge for most riders. As soon as you start up even a slight incline, your lungs begin to burn, yet there are several easy downhill rides recommended at the inn. Visiting local attractions, including:
Iliniza Ecological Reserve – 149,000 hectares of protected land, mostly Andean Humid Forest/Cloud Forest, also within its boundaries are Laguna Quilotoa and the Iliniza Twin Peaks at 17,135 feet (5248 meters). Its unique equatorial eco-system is home to diverse flora and fauna. 
Chugchilán is located well off the beaten track, 4 to 5 hours drive from Quito and 3 hours off the Pan-American Highway on spectacular winding roads.
Local buses to rural locations such as Chugchilán are a great experience. For just US $2.50 you can share the 4 hour ride with friendly campesinos, chickens, pigs and sheep. Dirt and cobbled roads climb through gorgeous scenery and make for a breathtaking ride!
Not quite up for the bus ride? Travel from Quito in a private jeep for US $100. This way you have the freedom to stop for photographs and breathe the clean mountain air while stretching your legs. Remember, it is a 4 hour drive on rough roads through spectacular scenery.
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The property has 9 adobe buildings, 10 composting toilets, gray-water recycling, organic gardens, a large fish pond, a wood-fired sauna, a greenhouse, a solar powered waterslide, weight lifting room, a tree house and an ecological airline, i.e. 100-meter zipline cable swing. Yoga Studio and Hot Tub are coming soon! Animals include: llamas, guinea pigs, geese, ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, and a flock of black sheep. Guests learn about ecotourism, enjoy fantastic scenery and experience intercultural exchanges while day hiking, horseback riding or cycling in the area.
The inn runs on the honor system, so you don't have to dig into your pockets to pay for an ice cold beer. Make yourself at home and have what you want when you want it. Just mark it down on your tab and settle the bill before you leave. All meals are vegetarian. Dinner is served at 7pm and it is a feast to remember.
Many declare that the best way to wake up is with a ride on the 100 meter zip line, a cable swing that launches off the tree house. The sauna is an eclectic combination of a traditional Finnish Sauna and a Native American Indian Sweat Lodge.
Other features:
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The inn aims to provide a comfortable, educational experience for guests, teaching them about the local area, local customs and permaculture, while contributing to and improving the local community and the natural environment. The goal is to be a leader in environmental stability and ecotourism.
"Top 10 EcoLodge in the World" -Outside Magazine Eco-permaculture features include solar panels, adobe construction, composting toilets, recycling, roof-water collectors, gray-water systems, organic gardens, community education & aid work, reforestation and erosion control. |
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. |
Community involvement is a large part of what makes a business and home responsible and sustainable. Over the years, the owners have become a part of the community of Chugchilán. Michelle teaches English and Computers in the local high school. Andres often repairs the town water system and phone lines. They have donated computers, phone lines and a copy machine and to the local school, health clinic, and police station. With the help of a generous donation, they have subsidized school textbooks since 2002. 
Several community members have been encouraged to participate in the growing local tourism industry by opening hostels and restaurants. The inn has also provided an interest-free loan to a neighbor enabling him to start a horseback riding business. The inn established a tourist transportation cooperative with local vehicle owners. Native guides take tourists hiking. Community members borrow musical instruments from a lending library to help bring traditional Andean folkloric music back into the area.