Laguna Quilotoa - The Most Beautiful Lake in Ecuador?

On my trip to Laguna Quilotoa, before embarking downwards from the top of the crater to the sparkling glass-green lake below, my girlfriend and I had the pleasure of meeting a man called Manuel Umajinga, the owner of Hostal Chocita Quilotoa, who was offering mule rides to passing tourists.

We thought nothing more of our meeting until we reached the bottom 45 minutes later to find the same Manuel Umajinga already at the bottom, not at all looking the sweaty mess that we were. It was at this moment that we looked towards the crater surrounding the lake and decided to take Manuel up on his kind offer of a mule ride back to the top ($5, taking 45 minutes).

We got talking on the return journey about the traditional art he and his family painted, using the smooth canvas of sheep skin. As we were rather interested in purchasing some of this artwork anyway, we decided to take him up on his offer and went with him to his hostel, which also doubles as the family home.

The hostel contains a selection of 5 double and single beds, each with a rather dingy set of covers, and plenty of blankets, which are essential at Laguna Quilotoa as the night time temperatures drop down past zero frequently. The two toilets were in a very sad state of repair, where several floaters looked like they had been waiting to sink for weeks! There are also no showers on offer, which were most wanted after hiking up and down the volcanic crater. Saying this though if you are just staying for the night then they are surely not a definite necessity?

This hostel is probably as basic as you can get and under normal circumstances I would never consider staying somewhere as basic as this, but the family were so accommodating to my girlfriend and I, that we would definitely stay here for our next trip to this area. Plus it is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself into Spanish, learning about the Andean culture, as Manuel is more than keen to ask question after question.

As well as accommodation, Chocita Quilotoa also offers a small selection of food (whatever the family are cooking for the day!), cold and hot drinks (which are plastered across the front of the hostel in big black letters). Manuel gives tours of the local area, including around the volcanic crater ($8, 3 hours) and also to the nearby cloud forest town of Chugchilan by mule for approximately $15, depending on the number of people in your group.

To reach Hostal Chocita Quilotoa, at the entrance of Laguna Quiltoa, next to the car park, with Hostal Pacha Mama directly in front of you, Hostal Chocita is the first building on your left. You can't really miss it as the hostel's name is also plastered in huge letters along the side of the building. For more information you can contact Manuel directly by phone on 094391840.

Normally when a guidebook recommends a restaurant, you know there’s a good chance of it being good. When it’s also recommended by a number of local friends, then I was sure I was on to a winner with Buon Giorno, and it was exactly what the doctor ordered after a long tiring day seeing the delights of Laguna Quilotoa.

The restaurant itself is perfectly located on the corner of Sanchez de Orellana and General Maldonado, overlooking the focal point of Latacunga, Parque Vicente Leon. The restaurant offers adequate seating, but the seating upstairs gives great views over the park opposite. Sadly this only seems open when the restaurant is packed full of happily eating guests.

You can see that the restaurant has tried to decorate itself in an authentic and typical Italian style, with patterned table clothes and the odd vine plant thrown in to the vacant corners. They don’t really pull it off, but it looks much cleaner and smarter than other restaurants in the area. Saying this, I do have to say that I hope the big greasy motorbike leaning against one of the tables wasn’t a permanent fixture of the restaurant!

The food on offer I thought was highly impressive, especially the pizza. There are 23 different varieties of pizza to choose from, including 6 vegetarian options. Of the other pizzas, the highlight was the ‘Meat Feast’, which contained virtually every meat available in Ecuador. They also have a small selection of pasta and a number of sandwiches, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, but it was the pizza I was recommended in using this restaurant for, and which has made Buon Giorno famous locally. A small pizza sets you back on average $4, a medium $8 and a large around $14, although when they say large it’s certainly an understatement. The large one that I shared with two other people was enormous and could have easily fed a family of five.

My friends and I chose a large cheese, tomato and mushroom pizza. Two things impressed me straight away. Firstly, the cheese was proper pizza cheese, and not the one kind of imitation mozzarella cheese you normally find for sale everywhere. Secondly the mushrooms were real, and not canned, a luxury for this area, as myself and my girlfriend had been searching for real mushrooms for months!

After not having Western food for a good 3 months, the taste of pizza was heavenly, and seemed to sweep the tiredness from my legs after my trip to Laguna Quilotoa. It will be a taste I will definitely be experiencing again. Service was efficient and it only took 25 minutes between ordering the food, having it cooked, and being served to our table, complete with a rather spicy salsa, that just added to the taste.

The restaurant is closed on Sundays, but is open every other day from 1pm until 11pm. They also do take out and delivery, although I was unable to obtain any phone details on this visit.

Out of all the places visited on my travels, I would say Laguna Quilotoa rates as one of the most beautiful and breathtaking, a tranquil, mesmerizing glass-green lake lying in the crater of an extinct volcano. The volcanic crater is still perfectly formed, allowing visitors to see its past history and formidable power. It’s possible to take a guided tour around the crater (between $8-$12, 4 hours), but for me the walk down from the top of the crater to the lake’s edge, 400 metres below was just as rewarding, although not to be taken light-heartedly.

Walking from the top of the crater, opposite the parking area, down to the lakes edge takes between 30-45 minutes. Under normal circumstances (even a trip to Machu Picchu), flip-flops suffice, but for Laguna Quilotoa sturdy footwear is a must. The pathway at times is very steep and narrow, and I can easily see why an American tourist fell to her death a few weeks ago while trying to walk and take a photo at the same time. Although the sandy surface helps keep your grip, watch out for the slippery jagged rocks, which make a fool out of even the most masculine of men!

Also watch out for the young sheep herders who come running down the cliffs at suicidal pace, followed closely by their flocks of sheep. It can be quite scary to look behind you and see 100 sheep racing towards you!

Once at the bottom of the lake, there isn’t much to do other than relax and enjoy the tranquility. On the walk down I highly recommend when coming to a sign saying ‘beaches left and right’ to take the pathway leading to your left, as this is a much easier descent. You can take a boat ride out on to the lake as well, but this doesn’t really enhance the already outstanding beauty.

The return walk back to the top of the crater is probably the best work out I have had in a long time, including all the marathon training. It is a good 70-minute climb back to the top, and in places the sand is so soft that it takes a momentous effort just to move a few steps. It takes even longer if you require any rest periods.

Unless you like challenges the easiest way of ascending back to the top is by mule. Mule rides can be arranged at the entrance to Laguna Quilotoa and cost $5. By the time you reach the bottom, the mule is already waiting for you and cuts the return leg of the journey in half and saves a lot of stress on those precious calf muscles.

Entrance to Laguna Quilotoa costs $1 to enter and is open during daylight hours every day. If you run out of time there are a number of hostels nearby, charging between $3 and $5 a night. During my stay in Ecuador, this trip has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable.

Situated in an extinct volcano crater high in the Andean Mountains, Laguna Quilotoa is deemed one of the most beautiful lakes in the whole of Ecuador. To be honest, I’m not surprised.

After making the short trip from my current home to the town of Latacunga, I was expecting it to be both hectic and problematic to make the approximately 70km journey to Laguna Quilotoa, especially when my guidebook stated that there was only one bus a day to Zumbahua, a town situated 10km from the lake. I was therefore quite surprised upon reaching Latacunga Bus Terminal on Saturday at 7.30am to find a bus bound for Zumbahua ready to leave. I don’t know if there are more buses going to Zumbahua on Saturdays due to the hugely popular indigenous market there, although I have a feeling they leave fairly regularly every day of the week.

Expect to pay only $1.25 each way for the bus journey to Zumbahua, a nice 90 minute journey. Like with me, the bus conductor will no doubt try and lie to make you pay more, but no matter what tall-tales they come up with to try and make you pay more, there is no reason for you to do so. If you have the correct change it will certainly help matters. If you don’t you could unknowingly pay $2 for your trip, like the French couple sitting opposite me.

If you are finding it hard to track down a direct bus to Zumbahua, you can catch a bus for Quevedo, getting off at the turn to Zumbahua, where you have a nice 10 minute walk down into the valley, where the small town can be seen sprawled out. If catching the bus to Quevedo, I am told that you should expect to pay slightly higher than the direct bus to Zumbahua, although I can’t say for certain. I would just try handing over the same money as the fee for the direct bus.

The bus ride to Zumbahua is a scary, hair-raising affair. As you pass through the town of Pujili, you start the climbing to a final elevation of 3,800 meters, following the road as it races around the edge of vertical drop cliffs. You would think that knowing one piece of bad driving could signal a quick end to a person’s life would deter the bus drives from driving at lunatic speeds. Sadly not, as they take the corners like a F1 racing driver, cutting the corners and taking the racing line, oblivious to the concerns of meeting any oncoming traffic head-on.

Luckily you have the luxury of having the beautiful scenery to take your mind off the crazy driving. For the best views sit on the right hand-side going to Zumbauhua and the left hand-side returning to Latacunga. This gives you much better views of the patchwork fields, which seem to climb the mountains right to the peak. It really amazes me how people can farm land that almost has a 90° gradient, but I suppose when you are this poor, you take what land you can to farm.

As well as the patchwork of farmed fields, people here seem to dress more traditionally, in the typical Andean colours you see in many photographs from this region, tending to their cattle in the dust blown environment outside adobe brick houses. It amazed me the difference in wealth of these people, compared to the residents of Latacunga, only a short ride away.

If you aren’t inclined to risk your life on a bus, you can also rent a camioneta (a white pick-up truck) from Latacunga, which are located next to the main market on Antonio Vela. Expect to pay between $40 and $50 for the return trip.

Upon reaching the town of Zumbahua, the only way of getting to Laguna Quilotoa, other than a 10km, 4 hour walk, is to go by lorry or pick-up truck. It seems the drivers of this type of transport all wait eagerly around the bus drop-off point, flagging you down the moment you leave the bus. I paid $7.50 for the 20 minute ride to Laguna Quilotoa, but I think you could get it for less. If possible, try and arrange the driver of the lorry or pick-up to meet you at the lake to take you back to Zumbahua, as transport on my visit was few and far between, and you could be in for a long cold wait!

In total, split between the two people I was traveling with, it cost a total of $7.50 for all the transport to and from Latacunga, which you can’t really complain about for a full day’s entertainment and enjoyment. Latacunga is located around 90km from Quito, a 2 hour journey costing $1.50. Buses leave for Latacunga from Quito’s Terminal Terrestre almost every 10 minutes.

Found just off the main Latacunga – Quevedo road is this delightful small indigenous community high in the Andean Mountains, famous for its Saturday market, which sees people venturing from far and wide to sell all sorts of weird and wonderful produce and livestock.

Zumbahua is located at an altitude of 3,800 metres above sea level, and it’s very easy to lose your breath if you are not accustomed to this height. Especially on a Saturday morning, when if arriving by bus you are dropped off smack bang in the middle of the action-packed hectic weekly market. If you arrive any other day of the week, you could be mistaken for feeling like you have come to a ghost town, the pot-holed roads almost empty of the traditionally dressed Andean people that make the Saturday market so enthralling.

The setting of Zumbahua is pretty spectacular thanks to the sharp peaks dominating the skyline and the patchwork of tawny fields that surround the town. Although most people use Zumbahua as a stop-off point before travelling on to Laguna Quilotoa, there are a couple of reasons worth bringing you to Zumbahua alone. The most popular is the Saturday indigenous market, filled with locals huddled together in a selection of coloured shawls and ponchos, selling anything from a freshly cut sheep, to an amazing selection of combs, to suit any hairstyle.

You can easily spend a good 45 minutes walking around the market, enjoying all of the sights, smells and sounds on offer. From the information I had read in my guidebook, I was expecting to also see livestock and a large amount of sheep heads for sale. Sadly, I was unable to find either of these available during my visit, but this didn’t take anything away from the experience. Before leaving the market, I would highly recommend buying empanada’s from the many sellers, which are cooked fresh before your eyes and sprinkled with sugar. They cost $0.25 for 3, which is well worth it, especially if you are looking for a snack for an onward trip to Laguna Quilotoa.

I would say the daily market in Latacunga, especially at the weekends is about three or four times the size of Zumbahua Saturday market, with a wider range of goods for sale, but it just doesn’t have the same atmosphere as Zumbahua market. Plus of course there is the added bonus of the numerous photo opportunities on offer of indigenously dressed locals bartering between themselves. The earlier you get to the market the better, as by midday the market is already cooling down. There is a small selection of hostels around the market square, if you choose to arrive the Friday night so you get to see the best of the action the following morning.

Other than the market, there isn’t much else to keep you in Zumbahua for more than a day or so. As already mentioned there is the opportunity of travelling on to the heavenly Laguna Quilotoa but if this doesn’t tickle your fancy then located just outside of Zumbahua, on the same road to the lake are a group of ‘dry islands’, formed during the 1995 earthquake, where 200 people lost their lives. The earthquake caused a huge rip in the land creating a canyon a good 200 metres across. In the middle of the canyon are the small outcrops of land (dry islands) that look like they were formed by an eroding river. It is a very strange sight, especially as they still have one or two house standing on top of the islands, which are now impossible to access since the earthquake. Such a spectacle shows how violent, powerful and destructive mother-nature can be sometimes.

I’m not sure if I would have made the journey to Zumbahua if I wasn’t on my way to Laguna Quilotoa, but I am happy to say that I experienced a Saturday here, if only for a few hours. If you can’t visit on a Saturday then I think it would be pointless to make a visit. Buses from Latacunga cost $1.25 and take around 90 minutes to reach Zumbahua, making it an easy day trip, even from the capital Quito, although the earlier you arrive, the better.