Quilotoa: the crater lake
Seven hours in a vehicle for two or three hours at the rim. That is the arithmetic, and no amount of enthusiasm changes it. What you get in exchange is a two-kilometre volcanic caldera holding a lake that shifts through half a dozen shades of green and blue, and a view that people remember for the rest of their lives.
The short version
- 3.5 hours each way from Quito. This is a full day and then some.
- The rim is at 3,914 m. Not a first- or second-day activity.
- Down to the water takes 30–45 minutes. Back up takes an hour or more, and it is genuinely hard.
- A mule for the climb costs around $10–15. Take it if you need it.
- You can also walk twenty minutes to the viewpoint, look at one of the great sights of the Andes, and go for lunch. That is a legitimate visit.
What you are going to see
Quilotoa is a caldera about two kilometres across and 250 metres deep, left by a catastrophic eruption roughly eight centuries ago. It has since filled with water that is heavily mineralised and, depending on the light and the hour, reads as emerald, jade, turquoise or a flat metallic blue. Locals will tell you it has seven colours. Spend a morning there and you will not argue.
The rim sits at 3,914 metres in the central Andes, surrounded by high páramo and small Kichwa villages. On a clear day you can see snow peaks from the far side. It is genuinely one of the most striking landscapes in Ecuador.
The honest arithmetic
We are going to be direct, because most pages about Quilotoa are not.
A day tour leaves Quito around six or seven in the morning and gets back between half past five and half past six. Of those eleven or twelve hours, roughly seven are spent travelling, and two to three are at the crater. The rest is lunch and a market stop.
If that ratio sounds acceptable to you, go — it is worth it, and people rarely regret it. If it does not, be honest with yourself now rather than at four in the afternoon on the Panamericana. There is no version of this trip that is short.
Three ways to do it
1 · The viewpoint, twenty minutes
From the car park it is a short, gentle walk to the main lookout on the rim. You get the full crater, the full colour and the photograph. Many visitors do this, sit with it for an hour, and drive home entirely satisfied.
This is not the lesser option. At 3,914 m with a stopover schedule, it is often the sensible one.
2 · Down to the water and back
A steep sandy path drops around 300 metres to the shore. Going down takes half an hour to forty-five minutes and is easy on the lungs and hard on the knees. At the bottom there is a small beach, kayaks for a few dollars, and remarkable quiet.
Then you have to come back up.
3 · The rim loop
The full circuit of the crater is 10–12 kilometres and takes four to six hours, entirely above 3,800 m. It is spectacular and it is not a day-trip activity from Quito. If this is what you want, stay the night in Quilotoa or Chugchilán.
About that climb
This is the part that catches people, and it is worth stating plainly.
The ascent from the lake to the rim is 300 vertical metres on loose volcanic sand, finishing at nearly 3,900 metres. Fit people from sea level take an hour to an hour and a quarter, stopping repeatedly. It is not dangerous and it is not technical. It is simply much harder than the same climb would be at home, because there is roughly a third less oxygen in every breath.
Go down only if you are willing to come back up, or willing to pay for a mule. And do not go down at all on your second day at altitude — see what to expect in your first 24 hours.
The mule is not cheating
Local families keep mules at the shore for exactly this purpose, at around ten to fifteen dollars for the ride up. Taking one is normal, it is not a failure of character, and the money goes directly to the community that lives on the crater.
Decide before you go down, not halfway up when you are gasping and there are none left. If you are travelling with someone who might struggle, arrange it in advance.
What the day looks like
- 06:30Leave Quito, south on the Panamericana.
- 08:30Market stop — Saquisilí on a Thursday, Pujilí on a Sunday. Both are working highland markets, not craft fairs.
- 10:00Through Zumbahua and up onto the páramo. Tigua, where the villages paint on stretched sheepskin, is on this stretch.
- 11:30The rim. First sight of the lake, which is the moment people came for.
- 12:00Down to the water, or the viewpoint and a hot drink.
- 14:00Lunch, usually in Quilotoa village or Zumbahua.
- 18:00Back in Quito.
Which day to go
If you have any flexibility, go on a Thursday. Saquisilí's Thursday market is one of the largest genuinely local markets in the highlands — food, livestock, household goods, almost no souvenirs — and it turns the drive into part of the trip rather than dead time. Sunday gives you Pujilí, which is smaller but similar in spirit.
On any other day you are doing seven hours of driving with a lunch stop in the middle.
Getting there
- Organised day tour — around fifty-five dollars including transport, guide, lunch and stops. For a single day from Quito this is the obvious choice.
- Private car — more expensive, but you leave when you want and stay as long as you want, which matters when the light is good.
- Public transport — there is no direct bus. Quito to Latacunga is about two hours, then a bus to Zumbahua, then a taxi for the last half hour. The afternoon connections back are limited, so this really only works if you are sleeping there.
What to bring
- Warm layers and a windproof. It can be near freezing on the rim with a wind that does not stop.
- A rain jacket. Weather on the páramo changes within the hour.
- Sunglasses and strong sunscreen. Equatorial sun at 3,900 m reflecting off water — this is the burn people bring home.
- Shoes with grip. The descent is loose sand on a slope.
- Cash in small bills and coins — the entrance is a couple of dollars, the mule and kayak are cash, and the toilets charge a few cents.
- Water and snacks. There is food at the top but not much at the bottom.
Does it fit your stopover?
- Two nights before the Galápagos — no. It would have to be your first or second day at altitude, at 3,914 m, and you would get back late before an early flight. Mindo or Otavalo give you far more for the same day.
- Three nights — yes, on day three, ideally a Thursday.
- Four nights or more — better still: sleep at the crater or in Chugchilán and walk part of the rim in the morning light, when the day-trippers have not arrived.
- Coming back from the Galápagos or the Amazon — a good use of a spare day, and the second exposure to altitude is easier than the first.
If you have more time: the Quilotoa Loop
The crater is one point on a three- to five-day walking route linking highland villages — Sigchos, Isinliví, Chugchilán, Quilotoa — with simple hostels at each stop and luggage forwarded between them. You walk between three and six hours a day through canyons and farmland at 3,000 to 3,900 m.
It is one of the best treks in Ecuador and it asks for proper acclimatisation. If it appeals, build the trip around it rather than trying to squeeze it into a stopover.
What we do here
We book Quilotoa day trips at reception, and we will tell you honestly whether the day you have is the day for it — which more often than not means suggesting Mindo or Otavalo instead. If you do go, we will get you on an early departure and hold a late breakfast for the morning after, because it is a long day and you will feel it.
Three nights makes this possible. Two does not.
Nine rooms in a restored 1914 house in San Blas. Book direct for our lowest rate, tell us how many nights you have, and we will be straight with you about what actually fits.
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Coverage on the páramo is unreliable, and it is a long drive to be without the details.
