The Quilotoa Loop is a famous multi-day hike in Ecuador, just a few hours drive from Quito. The hike involves hiking from village to village, finishing at Quilotoa a few days later, the most western volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes and now a crater lake that is two miles wide.
Where to start the Quilotoa Loop
I’ll assume like most that you’re starting from Quito. From Quito you need to get yourself to Latacunga, this is the gateway town to the Quilotoa Loop. There are two major bus terminals in Quito, for this one you’ll need to find your way to Terminal Terrestre Quitumbe in the south.
| Cooperative | Approximate hours | Frequency | Departure terminal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transporte Cotopaxi | 05:00 – 21:00 | Every 20–30 min | Quitumbe – Carcelén |
| Ambato | 05:00 – 20:00 | Every 30 min | Quitumbe – Carcelén |
| Transporte Riobamba | 06:00 – 19:00 | Every 45–60 min | Quitumbe – Carcelén |
| Transporte San Francisco | 06:30 – 20:00 | Every 60 min | Quitumbe – Carcelén |
| Macuchi | 12:00 | Every 60 min | Quitumbe – Carcelén |
Passage to Latacunga takes about two hours, so if you take the 5am bus, you could get started all on one day, but here are your options:
- Take a bus from Quito to Latacunga. Stay overnight in Latacunga and start the trek the next day (this is what I did). Best option if you have time on your side.
- Take a bus from Quito to Latacunga. Take your next bus to Sigchos in the morning (where the trek starts), stay overnight in Sigchos and start the trek the next day. Great if you just want to wake up and start hiking.
- Take a bus from Quito to Latacunga, immediately take your next bus to Sigchos and start your hike a bit later in the morning. Ideal if you’re strapped for time.
If like me you went with option 1, you can arrive to Latacunga at whatever time, go out for a nice dinner and relax for the night. Latacunga is a necessary stop as it’s the only town that provides a bus to the start of the trek, in Sigchos. I stayed at a hostel/hotel called Golden Rest and would recommend it, they give you your own certificate for completing the trek, which is a nice touch.
Getting to the start line
The Quilotoa Loop starts in the village of Sigchos, and you’ll need to take a bus from Latacunga to Sigchos. Get yourself to Latacunga’s terminal and buy a ticket for Sigchos, there’s one bus company called Reina de Sigchos. There are less than 10 bus desks at the terminal, so they’re easy to find. They depart for Sigchos daily at 8am and you’ll arrive in Sigchos at about 10am ready to start your hike.
There is another option according to their Facebook page: Reina de Sigchos actually run a route direct from Quito Terminal Sur (the terminal referenced above) that leaves at 14:00 and 18:30 Monday to Saturday and 16:30 and 18:30 on a Sunday. This way you can actually skip Latacunga altogether, which makes things a bit more efficient, although you’ll still need to do an overnighter in Sigchos and start your hike the next day. This option is better if you want to start hiking earlier than 10am and beat the heat later in the day.
It’s up to you, but either way you’ll need to do a night somewhere before you start the Quilotoa Loop, unless you fancy hiking when the sun goes down (not recommended!).
Stage 1: Sigchos to Isinlivi
The first stage of the Quilotoa Loop is from the town of Sigchos to Isinlivi. This part of the hike is the worst signposted of the lot and without some guidance you will, one hundred percent, get lost. With that in mind I would recommend the AllTrails app on your phone and to follow this route, it’s 10km with 550m of gain, so I would say it’s moderately difficult but absolutely fine for anybody with a relatively decent level of fitness. It should take you around 3.5 hours without breaks to complete.
Once you arrive in Isinlivi you’ll need to find accommodation for the night, and without a doubt you’ll want to stay at Llullu Llama, it’s one of the best hostels in Ecuador. For nomads, there’s great wi-fi, lots of room to work and stunning views of the surrounding hills.
Stage 2: Isinlivi to Chugchilan
The second stage of the Quilotoa Loop is a bit more picturesque, IMO, than stage 1 and a little more difficult. Coming in at just over 12km and 780m of elevation gain, you’re definitely going to feel the burn with this one. Whilst the signposting is a little better here and less options for getting lost, I still wouldn’t leave without having AllTrails downloaded on my phone, this is the route to follow. The first 4km or so is largely downhill and then your remaining 8km is completely uphill, so this will definitely wear you down a bit! Expect to take a good four hours, without breaks, to complete this one.
One thing I did that was different is once I got to the small town of Itualo, I turned right (you’ll see a sign pointing you right to Chugchilan) instead of continuing to follow the AllTrails path. The section that follows is insanely steep, but short, and leads you to a really great viewpoint. Apparently, this second half is easier overall with a little less climbing and is recommended by everybody I spoke with.
Once you get to Chugchilan you’ll have a lot more options for accommodation than Isinlivi, this town is much bigger, although still a small town. I stayed at Hostal Cloud Forest, which was really nice, very cheap (about $20-25 for a private room) and well-equipped. Although, if I was to do it again I would stay at Black Sheep Inn.
Stage 3: Chugchilan to Quilotoa
This is the big one, just over 13K of hiking and at least 1,250m of gain, this is pretty much entirely uphill finishing at 3,900masl and you will be dead by the end of it. This one should take you at least 5 hours (closing in on 6 for many) without breaks, but you’ll definitely need breaks on this one! This route is very well marked and you can get away with doing this without AllTrails, but here is the route if you need it.
Once you arrive at Quilotoa there are plenty of options for accommodation for the night, which is what I did and then you can get up the next day and do one final hike of circumnavigating the crater. Although, given the option to do it again, I’d just head straight back to Latacunga and call it a day.
Getting back
Once you’re finished, you’ll need to take a bus from Quilotoa to Latacunga, which takes about two hours. Note that thieves reportedly frequent this bus route (I encountered some myself), so stay alert, stay awake and keep your belongings with you. There is a regular bus service to Latacunga for $2.50, simply ask a local for directions and eventually you’ll pass a large sign with a timetable (but it just appears to turn up whenever it wants), walk past the sign to where that road meets the main road and just wait. I arrived at 10am, waiting for the 10:45 (apparently it sometimes turns up early) and it never arrived, so I sat waiting until the 12:15pm showed up, ten minutes early. Once you’re back in Latacunga you can then get a bus onwards to Quito or if you’re heading south then go to Ambato where you can go onwards to places such as Baños and Cuenca.
Note: Ignore the pick-up truck drivers that will offer to take you to the next town, it’s of no use, there’s only one bus that goes to Latacunga and it passes through this town anyway.
A tip for nomads
The majority of people that you meet will do the Quilotoa Loop in three days, hiking each stage one day after another. But, if you’re trying to balance it with work like I was, I did it over six days and actually spent two nights at each stop and used the extra day to catch up on work and it also made the experience so much easier. All of the places I stayed at had wi-fi and I had practically uninterrupted 4G for the entire trail, too! (I use CNT for Ecuador and highly rate it).
