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Trekking in Ecuador, 16 days with summit on Cotopaxi

Come and join Fernando, an ASEGUIM certified guide, and his team, for a 16-day trekking and mountaineering expedition that will have you climbing several peaks, including Cotopaxi.

Group

Andes

16 Days

Jun, Jul

Fit

Intermediate

Highlights

Spend 16 days exploring a number of great sites in Ecuador.
Trek to the summits of many peaks, including Cotopaxi and Chimborazo.
Take a train ride to the Nariz del Diablo or visit the ruins at Ingapirca.
Explore the capital city of Quito.

Description

Ecuador is a fantastic place to explore. The country is full of amazing sites and highlights, both natural and man-made. And on this 16 adventure, you will get to see an abundance of the country’s long list of tremendous spots, including the volcanoes Cotopaxi (5,897m) and Chiborazo (6,268m).

Our trip will start in the capital city of Quito. You will get to spend some time in the old city, exploring it and learning about its history. From there, we will make our way to the village of Isinlivi, which you also get to explore. After a night in the village, our journey will take us to another village, Chugchilan. The following day, we will venture up to the gorgeous Quilotoa Lagoon. From this point, we will start enjoying the summits of Ecuador. The collection of summits will begin with Iliniza North (5,126m) then Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. In between the ladder peaks, you will get to enjoy a day in Banos city, where you can either rest and relax or enjoy some exciting activities, from rafting to bungee jumping.

After the peaks, we will journey to either the Nariz del Diablo by way of a thrilling train ride, or visit the ancient Incan ruins of Ingapirca. On the following day, we will visit and explore the Parque Nacional Cajas. On the last few days, we will visit Cuenca, Otavalo before returning to Quito, where you will depart home.

Needless to say with an itinerary as extensive as this one, you will definitely accumulate enough memories to last a lifetime. To join me on this 16 day expedition in Ecuador, just send me a request.

Would you like to climb the amazing Cayambe volcano? Then join me on this 8 day expedition.

Price includes

- Guiding fee

- Accommodation included

- Transport during the trip

- Breakfast

- Lunch

- Dinner

Price details

In addition to the guiding fee, the price also includes necessary mountaineering equipment, including crampons, ice ax, harness, helmet and mountaineering boots, transportation, accommodation and all meals. However, the price does not include personal gear, including sleeping bags, clothing etc, flights, gratuities and insurance.

Itinerary

Day 1: Quito Airport

After being picked up from the Quito airport, you will be transferred to your hotel, where we will have a welcome briefing.

Day 2: Quito City Tour (2,800m)

Today we you will get to enjoy a tour of the city of Quito, including a visit to the Mitad del Mundo site before returning to your hotel for the night.

Day 3: Isinlivi (2,700m)

At approximately 8:00 am, we will depart Quito and drive through the gorgeous Avenida de los Volcanes until we reach the village of Isinlivi, where we will spend the night.

Day 4: Chugchilan (3,200m)

After breakfast, at approximately 7:30 am, we will hike for approximately 4-5 hours until we reach Chugchilan, where we will spend the night in the Cloud Forest Hostal.

Day 5: Quilotoa Lagoon (3,914m)

Today we will climb from Chugchilan to Huayama, where you can see the Toachi River Canyon. Afterwards, we will continue on to Quilotoa Lagoon, where we will stay at the village of El Chaupi for the night. The hike will take approximately 4-5 hours.

Day 6: Illiniza Norte (5,126m)

Early in the morning, after breakfast, at approximately 7:30 am, we will leave El Chaupi and make our way to the La Virgen parking lot. After that, we will hike for approximately 3 hours to Nuevos Horizontes Refuge. After that, we will trek for another 2-3 hours to the summit of Illiniza Norte, before returning to the parking lot and driving back to El Chaupi, where we will spend the night.

Day 7: Cotopaxi refuge (4,864m)

We will depart El Chapui and drive to the entrance of the Cotopaxi National Park. From there, we will make our way to the Jose Rivas Refuge, where we will spend the night.

Day 8: Cotopaxi summit (5,897m)

At midnight, we will wake up and make our way to the summit of Cotopaxi. The climb will take approximately 6-8 hours. We will then return to the refuge and drive to the city of Banos.

Day 9: Banos City (1,820m)

Today will be a rest day in Banos city, where you will get to relax and explore the city. There are a number of great activities to enjoy from rock climbing to bungee jumping.

Day 10: Chimborazo refuge (4,800m)

Today we will make our way to the Hermanos Carrel Refuge, where we will get some rest before the climb to come.

Day 11: Chimborazo summit (6,268m)

At midnight, we will start our ascent to the summit of Chimborazo. The climb will take approximately 8 hours. From the summit, we will return to the refuge, pack up and go to Alausi, where we will spend the night.

Day 12: Nariz del Diablo or Ingapirca (2,340m)

From Alausi, we will either visit the Incan ruins of Ingapirca, or take the train to the Nariz del Diablo, before reaching Cuenca, where we will spend the night.

Day 13: Parque Nacional Cajas (3,100m)

From Cuenca, we will make our way to the Parque Nacional Cajas, where you will get to enjoy the abundance of beauty before spending the night in a hotel in Cuenca.

Day 14: Cuenca (2,560m) - Quito

Today we will drive for approximately 8 hours back to Quito, where we will spend the night.

Day 15: Otavalo (2,500m)

Approximately 2 hours north of Quito we will visit the city of Otavalo, where you will get to explore and enjoy the sites before returning to Quito for the night.

Day 16: Departure home

Details

Accommodation

4 nights in a hotel in Quito, 2 nights in lodging at Chuquiragua, 1 night in lodging at Llullo Llama, 1 night at Cloud Forest hostal, 1 night in Chimborazo refuge, 1 night in Jose Rivas Cotopaxi refuge, 1 night in Banos hotel, 1 night in town of Alausi and 2 nights in Cuenca city.

Meeting point

Quito

About the guide

Fernando

4.71

(17)

Mountain Leader

ASEGUIM Guide from Ecuador.

I was born and raised in Cotopaxi Province – Ecuador and know the country’s peaks intimately. I have great mountaineering experience of more than 12 years of climbing in all Ecuador, and I also climbed in South America, Switzerland, and France.

I manage a guiding company, so sometimes I'm the one guiding the trips, but sometimes I'm focused on company management, and one of the certified guides of my team will be guiding you. All the guides with whom I work are professional and certified guides.

I worked for the Nuevos Horizontes refuge on Ilinizas Volcano from a young age and have professional Guide Training, and I am officially Licensed as a Nature guide organized by the Ministry of tourism.

Some of the guiding courses I attended are:

* Mountain Guides Course by ASEGUIM (Ecuadorian Association of Mountain Guides),
* Mountain Guides Evaluation by ENSA (Ecole Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme) in October 2006. An event organized by the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador and ENSA of France
* Pre-Course UIAGM an event organized by ASEGUIM and ENSA (Ecole Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme)
* First Aids course, Ecuadorian Red Cross

I live and manage a hostel and lodge in El Chaupi, a beautiful mountain village an hour south of Quito, just in between Illinizas Ecological Reserve and Cotopaxi National Park. It looks like a typical Swiss town in the Alps, and has everything to become a great mountaineering center, the ‘Chamonix or Zermatt of South America’!

I speak fluent Spanish, English, and little German, French, Hebrew, and Quichua.

The guiding team I lead is committed and experienced. Contact me to help you organize an unforgettable adventure.

Languages

German | French | English

Certificates

ASEGUIM

Residence

El Chaupi

What people are saying about Fernando Iza

Daniel McNamara

5.00

October, 2022

Thank you for putting this trip together for me at the last minute after my group canceled on me. Fernando was a great guide who knows the route up Cotopaxi very well. The meals and lodging were also great and well worth the price, in my opinion.

Lauren Kuklenski

5.00

August, 2022

Great experience. We did Rumiñawi, corázon, and Illiniza Norte as acclimatization hikes. All of them were beautiful. We attempted Cotopaxi but had a snow storm and heavy winds during the night of the summit and we were forced to turn around. The 3 initial climbs prepared us well for Cotopaxi and the altitude. There were some technical scrambling portions on corazon and Illiniza which were very cool. Overall would highly recommend!

Benjamin Stewart

5.00

June, 2022

Fernando was a fantastic guide who got me to the summit despite extremely difficult weather conditions! I would highly recommend him to anyone hoping to climb Ecuador's big peaks.

Kirsten Yehl

5.00

September, 2021

Fernando was an outstanding guide. We (my 16 yo son and I) spent a week with Fernando and did 3 acclimatization hikes and a successful Cotopaxi climb. All were amazing. On the last two, Illiniza Norte and Cotopaxi, Fernando was very attentive to safety. He also read and understood our strengths and weaknesses after the first few hikes and used that insight to guide us up the mountain. We stayed most nights at Fernando’s hostel, it was very comfortable, a great experience. His family is lovely and the meals were delicious. Was an unforgettable experience and we truly appreciate Fernando, both his guidance and hospitality.

Jan Zehnder

2.00

July, 2021

Even though Fernando is a fun and an experienced guide, I can't give him more than two stars. I was quite sick for the first three days so I could not keep up my normal pace. On my first hike I even had really bad balance disorders. This did not bother Fernando at all. Most of the time he was walking very far ahead. While descending he suddenly started walking so fast that I even lost him out of sight. I found him 2km later lying in the grass on his phone. I passed him and he just kept on being on his phone without even bothering about my medical situation. Beside his impatience the second thing is, that Fernando is always on his phone. I felt a lot better on my last day so we went on climbing Cotopaxi. He promised us a glacier school (since I've never used these tools before) but then at the refugee he just said that it's learning by doing. So when I tried to put on the crampons in the middle of the freezing night it of course took me a while. He didn't even bother to help, so my friend had to put on my crampons for me. Instead he just kept on walking. This repeated itself at our descent. I found him 20 minutes later sitting in the hut already. The only reason I decided not to give one star is his lovely wife. She is an excellent cook and kept the house clean and tidy.

Pavel Janecek

4.00

June, 2021

The traveller did not leave a comment.

Adam Burrage

5.00

December, 2019

Great experience climbing with Fernando: Well organised and we made the summit with him on Chimborazo. I'd recommend him for guiding in Ecuador.

Dick Fields

5.00

December, 2019

The traveller did not leave a comment.

Barbara Matter

5.00

July, 2019

The traveller did not leave a comment.

The Reality Twister

5.00

March, 2019

Fernando is an excellent and knowledgeable guide, and the itinerary is a nice balance of climbs and recovery time, including time to explore a couple of cities. He also made sure we were well-equipped for the climbs. The guides are geared more toward getting you up and down than toward building any technique. It's not billed as an instructional course, so that's not a complaint -- just pointing it out for those who like to use one experience to build to another rather than just reach the summit.

Chase Taylor

4.00

March, 2019

The traveller did not leave a comment.

Bryan McBride

5.00

July, 2018

Fernando was a wonderful guide. Even though we didn't make it to the top we had a great experience. We plan to return in the future and make it to the top! We hope to have Fernando guide us again.

Mike Burkus

5.00

July, 2018

Fernando is a wonderful guide who understands the Cotopaxi route well. I recommend the climb for anyone looking for a tough mental and physical challenge.

Gareth Treharne

5.00

June, 2018

The traveller did not leave a comment.

Lara Pedrini

5.00

May, 2018

Fernando is an incredible guide. He is very experienced and has extensive knowledge of the area. He will always make sure you are safe and comfortable. I highly recommend Fernando to anyone wishing to explore/hike/live/breathe the area. What an incredible experience!

Luis E Valdes

5.00

February, 2018

It was a great experience. Everything was very well arranged and taken care of. The guide (Fernando Iza) was extremely professional, safe, and friendly. I was very happy about everything, and would recommend booking with Fernando Iza for any hiking trip on Ecuador.

Marcela Hronesova

5.00

January, 2018

The traveller did not leave a comment.