Cotopaxi Volcano Trek from Quito: Glacier & Limpiopungo Lake

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.97 (122 reviews) 97% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/6

Duration8h

GroupUp to 10

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Hike to Cotopaxi's Glacier at 5,000m, Then Bike Down to the Lake

You hike from 4,600m to a glacier at 5,000m on Cotopaxi, then bike down to Limpiopungo Lagoon for lunch. Transport, guide, and a traditional meal are included. The day starts at 7:30am and returns you to Quito by late afternoon. Bring warm layers and waterproof gear — altitude and weather change fast.

Step-by-step itinerary

Cotopaxi National Park hike and lunch

Meet at CarpeDM Office
Transfer to Cotopaxi National Park
Enter Cotopaxi National Park
Visit Mariscal Sucre Interpretation Centre
Begin hike from 4600m car park
Reach refuge at 4864m
Bike ride to Limpiopungo lake
Arrive at Limpiopungo lake
Eat included lunch
Return to Quito

The Experience

The van picks you up at 7:30am from the CarpeDM office in Quito's old town, or from the Hilton Colon if that's easier. You'll stop for breakfast and snacks on the way to Cotopaxi National Park, which takes about two hours. By 9:30am you're inside the park gates, and your guide takes you straight to the Mariscal Sucre Interpretation Centre — they'll stamp your passport here and walk you through what you're about to see: the volcanoes, the paramo vegetation, the wild horses that roam the plateau. It's the kind of detail that makes the landscape make sense instead of just being a view.

At 10:30am you start hiking from the 4,600m car park toward the Jose Rivas Refuge. The air gets thinner as you climb, and by 12:30pm you've reached the refuge at 4,864 meters. From there, if conditions allow, you push up to the glacier at 5,000m — this is where Cotopaxi's snow and ice actually start. The volcano itself towers above you at 5,897 meters, and the symmetry of it is real; you're not imagining that cone shape. After the glacier, you head back down to the car park, where the guide hands you a bike for a short 3 to 5km ride down to Limpiopungo Lagoon. It's a gentle descent, nothing technical, and it gets you to the lake by 2pm.

Lunch is waiting at a traditional local restaurant by the lagoon at 3pm — included in the price, and you'll need it after the morning's altitude. Limpiopungo is a glacier-fed lake that sits like a mirror reflecting Cotopaxi and the neighboring Volcán Rumiñahui. Waterfowl move across the water, and the paramo stretches flat around you. You'll head back to Quito by 4pm, arriving around 5 or 5:30pm depending on traffic. The whole day is structured so you're not rushing any single part, but you're also not sitting around waiting.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel or office pickup in Quito, transport to and from Cotopaxi National Park with a stop for breakfast on the way, park entry, a guide who explains the volcanoes and landscape at the Mariscal Sucre Interpretation Centre, the hike to the Jose Rivas Refuge and glacier, a bike ride down to Limpiopungo Lagoon, and lunch at a traditional local restaurant by the lake.

Good to know

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

Operated by CarpeDM Adventures

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to reach high altitude and see Cotopaxi's glacier without arranging transport, park permits, or timing yourself — the fixed schedule and included guide handle all three, leaving you to focus on the climb and the views.