Cotopaxi & Quilotoa Volcanoes: Day Trip from Quito

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/15

Duration9h–10h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Two volcanoes, one day: Cotopaxi and Quilotoa from Quito in 10 hours

You travel 10 hours round-trip from Quito to see two of Ecuador's most recognizable volcanoes: Cotopaxi National Park with a hike around Limpiopungo Lagoon, and Quilotoa crater lake with an optional descent to the water. The day includes private transport, a professional guide, all park entry fees, and lunch. You don't arrange tickets, timing, or transport yourself—everything is coordinated so you move between the two sites without gaps or confusion.

9h–10h

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Cotopaxi and Quilotoa Volcanoes

Depart Quito to Cotopaxi National Park
Observe Avenue of the Volcanoes landscape
Explore Cotopaxi National Park and flora
Hike around Limpiopungo Lagoon
Pass through Pujili, Tigua, and Zumbahua villages
Arrive at Quilotoa Lagoon for lunch
Explore Quilotoa Lagoon and optional hike

The Experience

"The páramo changes everything you think you know about mountains," our guide said as we climbed out of Quito toward the Avenue of the Volcanoes. He wasn't wrong. The drive takes about an hour and a half, and somewhere in that stretch—past Pujili, through Tigua, into Zumbahua—the landscape stops being a view and becomes something you're inside. The Andes wrap around you. Cotopaxi itself sits at 5,897 meters, and even from a distance it holds the sky. We stopped for photographs at points where the whole valley opens up, and the light does something different every few minutes depending on where the clouds are.

The first real stop is Cotopaxi National Park, where you hike around Limpiopungo Lagoon—it's not a long walk, but it's the kind that lets you feel the altitude and the air. The páramo flora is low and tough, nothing like the forests lower down. After that, the drive to Quilotoa takes another two hours, and you pass through villages that have been here since the Inca era, inhabited by Panzaleo people whose descendants still live in these highlands. It's not a rushed thing; the guide points things out, but mostly you just watch the landscape change.

Quilotoa itself is the crater lake—a circle of water so vivid it doesn't look real at first. There's an optional hike down to the bottom if you want it, but most people eat lunch near the rim and spend time just looking. The water is that particular turquoise that only high-altitude crater lakes have, and on a clear day you can see across the whole caldera. The tour wraps up in the late afternoon, and the drive back to Quito gives you time to sit with what you've seen.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off in Quito, private transportation to both sites, a professional guide throughout, entry tickets to Cotopaxi National Park and Quilotoa Lagoon, and lunch near Quilotoa. You also get stops for photography at panoramic viewpoints along the Avenue of the Volcanoes and the option to hike down into the Quilotoa crater if you choose.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Real Dreams Tour

Is this one for you?Book this if you have one day in Ecuador and want to see two major volcanoes without arranging separate transport, park tickets, or timing—the fixed itinerary and included guide handle all of that, which is what makes two sites possible in 10 hours.