Ecuador

Edgar Parra is an excellent mountain guide. He cares about clients very well. Everything went super smoothly. I enjoyed the trip a lot!

I have travelled for several years to climb and hike mountains all over the world. I've had numerous guides, many of which were wonderful. However, I have to say, Edgar Parra has been the best climbing guide I've ever had. He was extremely professional, on time, motivated, encouraging, explained everything and translated for me (due to my lack of Spanish), adjusted our schedule when we had bad weather to ensure we were safe and yet still has a good experience climbing, and has a passion for mountains and climbing like nobody I've ever met before. I will most certainly come back to Ecudor specifically because of Edgar and his positive outlook on life and passion for mountain climbing. I would recommend him to anyone wanting to climb the mountains in Ecuador many of the other other countries he climbs in (Peru, Bolivia, and Russion to name a few more).

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.

The trip was amazing ! Raphael was highly knowledgable and I had a great time.

I had an excellent experience with Andean Summit Adventure during my recent climb of Volcano Cotopaxi. Elisabeth did a tremendous job coordinating all of the logistics details for my trip while I was still in the United States. Jaime Vargas, my guide, provided a first-rate, safe, and excellent experience during the climb itself. I was completely happy with the support that Andean Summit Adventure provided me and I highly recommend them as a tour/guide service for outings in South America.

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A fantastic trip! Segundo was a wonderful guide and made the trip a lot of fun. Even during difficult weather and when things didn't go as expected, he kept a positive attitude and continued to motivate me when I was beginning to lose momentum. I would absolutely recommend this trip and Lonely Summits to anyone looking to visit the beautiful country of Ecuador - whether you're an experienced climber or not, the services provided by Lonely Summits are fantastic for any skill level or price point.

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.

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.

The hole day was a great experience. The drive up was beautiful and fun. The walk and views were amazing it was one of the best things I've ever done. My guide Segundo was brilliant very knowledgeable and very caring making sure I was ok every step of the way. I would highly recommend this to anyone coming to Quito

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I climbed Tungurahua together with Jaime in November as a preparation for successful attempts to climb both Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. The trip was perfectly organized by Elisabeth and Jaime did a great job as a guide. I would absolutely recommend Andean Summit Adventure and I hope that I can do some further tours in Ecuador in the future with them!

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Jaime was absolutely amazing. He always made sure that safety is the priority, even when I was tired and had problems with altitude. I'd climb any mountain with him!

Edgar Parra is a great guide: thoroughly professional, safety conscious, always on time and with an engaging personality. He came highly recommended and I can only heap additional praise. He guided my son and I up Cotopaxi to a successful summit and made it a trip of a lifetime. In so far as putting my money where my mouth is, I plan to hire him in the future (2020) with my entire family for a trip to Machu Picchu. No better praise than a repeat customer.

Edgar is an amazing guide. He is incredibly knowledgeable and encouraging. The combination makes you feel confident in the things that he teaches you and in your ability to reach the summit.

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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.

we had a great time with the guide,  knows his buissnis , he took wonderfull shots from us at tungurahua during the climb. im sure he would have made great pics aswell during the cotopaxi climb,  very experienced guide indeed, and a friendly man with nice girlfriend elisabeth who went with us to tungurahua refugio,   and he can cook

Amazing experience. Wonderful guide Diego. Can’t wait to get back and summit another volcano.

Edgar was an excellent guide. I have little climbing experience and Edgar was very knowledgeable and instructive. He is a life long climber and he has tons of experience and passion climbing through out the world. He was pleasant and a very nice guy. Unfortunately, the weather was very bad while I was in Ecuador so Edgar came up with a great alternative climb to Cayambe, which was not in good condition due to storms. He knows the mountains like the back of his hand and can relay tons of information, which makes the trip that much more enjoyable. His 4x4 transport and climbing equipment were all top notch. He understood safety and made sure to avoid unnecessary risks. I will climb with Edgar again.

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Great day of climbing in a beautiful location with an excellent guide. Thanks Felipe for a perfect day of climbing.

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Had an amazing time with my guide Ramiro. He selected the perfect mix of mountains in order to properly acclimatize so I could achieve the summit of Cayambe. With his vast experience of more than three decades he was able to teach me a lot of skills and know-how along the way so I’d always feel safe on the mountains. I can only recommend a trip with Ramiro. You’re definitely in good hands and going to make wonderful experiences.

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

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I found it pretty expensive to have a private guide. The climb was only 8 hours in total and costs me €570,-. Well, that’s the only complain i have. The service all over was great. Jaime was not my guide so i can rate him, it was Juan of course. He was an ok guide, sometimes a bit hurry up. And next time it would be good to get some more explanations about the dangers of the glacier. I’ve spoken to some real mountaineers and found out there were far more dangers then i realized when climbing the cotopaxi. Maybe something for you guys to consider next time. Best regards, philippe coopmans

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Edgar Parra's guiding service was excellent. His guide understood the mountain, made sure I understood the approach, and did a good job of communicating. While Edgar can't control the weather, his guide did a great job of controlling the situations he could control. Highly recommended and would climb with him again.

Overall very happy with the trip. The guide (not Rafael, one of his associates) had English skills that weren’t great, but other than that the trip was excellent and the guide was very attentive and helpful. Would climb with him again.

End-to-end this was very well organized with good communication. The guide was very knowledgeable and took the climb seriously. He was also easy to talk to, spoke good English and went out of his way to tell me about climbing in the region, the volcanoes and anything else I was I interested in.

Fantastic trip. Rafael is knowledgeable, extremely experienced and safety-focused. Great climb!

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We summited Cotopaxi with Jamie Vargas as our guide. It was an unbelievable and perfect experience. Jamie was very knowledgeable, skilled, and personable. He shared just enough information with us for each part of the trip for us to be prepared but not too overwhelmed. It was very easy to communicate with our guide and the company before the trip. The food was really nice and the whole experience staying at the refuge and meeting other climbers and guides. We were very confident in Jamie’s skills and ability to keep us safe. His saying “never give up!” was very motivating for our successful summit. The gear was all very nice and up to date, we were given every tool we needed. I felt every emotion during this day from excitement, to fear, to fatigue, to gratitude, I cried very much at the summit because it was so beautiful and it was such a big accomplishment for myself and my husband. Overall this experience was our favorite for our time in Ecuador and even one of my favorites of my whole life! Highly recommend Jamie with Andean summit adventure. Worth every dollar as an investment for an experience of a lifetime!

Outstanding job done by Edgar and Ivan who were professional and patient Recommend to all without a doubt

Jaime was an awesome guide! Everything was taken care of, he was very aware about going at the best pace for me, and did everything possible to ensure a successful and safe summit.

Fantastic people ! They were all friendly, accommodating and knowledgeable . I recommend them without reservation

This was an excellent climb and Rafael is a very professional and experienced guide.

Rafael was an amazing guide with many years of experience. The trip was planned very well from the begging till the end as well as acclimatisation. I get well prepared for high altitude. Highly recommended.

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Super fun! Jamie is awesome. The experience was way more than I expected.

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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.

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.

Edgar was great. I could talk with him over all questions (equipment, acclimatization, ...) before the tour easy via WhatsApp. I always feel good and save with him in the mountains. His motto „lonely summits“ was completely fulfilled.

It was amazing trip, Jaime is professional climber and the person who safety guide us to the top of Cotopaxi and back.

Great trip

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Highly recommend!

This review is a bit misleading, because we didn't climb Antisana and we didn't climb with Edgar. We had originally intended to climb this peak, but we changed to Cotopaxi after a few discussions. Also, Edgar got sick a few days before our climb, so we climbed with a different guide (Franklin). But we were extremely happy with both the mountain and the guide.

Fantastic climbs, fantastic guide (Jaime Vargas), and fantadtic crew at Andean Summit Adventures!

Jaime was a fantastic guide and I had for both the Cotopaxi and Chimborazo expeditions. Very knowledgable and you never feel too out of it when you're with him. He was consistent on checking if I was doing okay which I really appreciated. Eliz, who I worked with for coordination, was also great. Super on top of it on making sure things ran smoothly. They both were quick to ensure I had the proper gear to take on these summits too. Highly recommend.

Jaime was a fantastic guide and I had for both the Cotopaxi and Chimborazo expeditions. Very knowledgable and you never feel too out of it when you're with him. He was consistent on checking if I was doing okay which I really appreciated. Eliz, who I worked with for coordination, was also great. Super on top of it on making sure things ran smoothly. They both were quick to ensure I had the proper gear to take on these summits too. Highly recommend.

Jaime may be one of the most kind and capable human beings we’ve ever met. He let us know exactly what we needed to do to be safe on our summit, while also making it a fun and exciting experience. We were not as fit and experienced as we should have been, and Jaime made sure to not push us past any limits. We had an amazing time (even got engaged at the summit!). Coordination from Elisabeth beforehand was also clear and top-notch. An amazing trip that will forever be in our memories!

Jaime is experienced guide and went the extra mile to make sure I had all the right equipment to climb.

Great guide and experience! Highly recommend!

It was an incredible experience. Jaime is an extremely professional and knowledgeable guide.