Outdoors in Quilotoa – Two Weeks in Ecuador

This post is the fourth of a five part series, “Two Weeks in Ecuador.” Over spring break, I traveled to the middle of the world with my friend, Stacie. The trip included a one-week session with G-adventures Travel and the other half backpacking around on our own. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Arriving in Quilotoa

This was our longest travel day yet. We started the morning early in Otavalo. We took a two hour bus ride to Quito and then the last stretch to Quilotoa. From the north of Quito to Quilotoa took almost four hours. It took an hour just to travel from the north of Quito to the south. The city is almost 90 kilometers long!

Being unfamiliar with the transportation, we decided to pre-book this leg of the journey with our lodging. We didn’t completely trust ourselves to make it out to this rural area on the public bus. Plus, it was Easter Sunday and we weren’t sure how that would affect bus schedules or traffic. Anyway, we returned to Quito on the bus, which was pretty easy.

Arriving to the highlands, we passed many small towns with Kichwa names. Families were out and about for the Easter holiday and dressed in their Sunday best. The drive was slow with all the twists and curves of the highway. There were many tight turns and step hills.  The view was wide open through the valley with tall mountains on the sides. Patchwork quilts of fields stretched up the mountains in various shades of greens, mixed with yellows and browns. Here the families grew potatoes, onions, cauliflower, and broccoli.

Staying at the Black Sheep Inn

While in the highlands, we stayed two nights at this small ecolodge outside of Quilotoa in the village of Chugchilán. Our ride dropped us at the end of a small dirt road at the door of the main cabin that served as a reception area, dining hall, and living room.

While at the Black Sheep Inn, all of our meals and snacks were included. Dinner each night was served family style and all food was vegetarian. We dined on mushroom soup, fried rice, quinoa soup, and pasta with veggies. In the mornings there was a continental breakfast and eggs made to order. Pack lunches were set out each day as most visitors were out enjoying nature and weren’t around the lodge to eat together. All day there was delicious banana bread, coffee and tea.

Our room was in a small set of cabins up the hill. A wood burning stove was already stocked to warm the cabin in the evening. Plus, we had a bunch of blankets, just in case. Since we were staying at an ecolodge, all the bathrooms were ecological toilets. That means, it was basically an outhouse, just add a layer of sawdust and woodchips when you use it. Since it was done right, there was no smell or critters. Also, the roof of the bathroom allowed for passive solar heating and the shower was built from recycled glass bottles and concrete.

Since the Black Sheep Inn is a part of a farming community, there are animals everywhere. As its name suggests, there was a pen of black sheep. There were horses, cows, pigs, and ducks. Just like the lodge in Otavalo, this lodge also had a sweet dog that followed us everywhere. He waited outside of the door to our cabin until we came back down the hill. And there were llamas, more about them below.

If you’re considering a stay at the Black Sheep Inn, I would really recommend it. However, I must also share two words of caution. During our visit, the main owners were out of town and a substitute was covering for them. She was very nice and friendly but certain not as knowledgeable about the lodge, the area, or the transportation as the regular hosts would be. Also, unfortunately, our experience was slightly clouded by a miscommunication error from the owners. We recommend keeping all your communication with them in writing and keep a record of payment, and we’re glad we did. We paid for our reservation in full in advance (cash or paypal only) and later the owners sent us emails requesting more money. Overall, the lodge was really beautiful and we enjoyed a relaxing stay in the highlands.

Llamas

Right behind our cabin and just up there hill, there was a corral of llamas. We could see them from the back window. At first, I wasn’t sure if I could go inside, so I just fed them through the fence. They loved the clovers and grass. They made the most adorable “honking” noise to ask for more leaves.

Later, we were informed that it was totally okay to enter. They were very gentle but also quite eager for the treats. They liked little scratches on the neck and behind the ears too. Then, we learned from Lucas, our driver to the crater, that llamas love salt. They went crazy when we shared handfuls of salt with them. Although after a while they looked like they had cocaine residue on their noses. I attempted a selfie with our sweet llama friends. Most of photos had an extreme close up of the llamas’ nose because they kept trying to sniff the phone, searching for more salt.

Hiking at the Quilotoa Crater

To get to the Quilotoa Crater, we needed to drive about twenty minutes from Chugchilán to Quilotoa. We shared a ride with two other guests at the Black Sheep. Our driver, Lucas, stopped to show us an amazing scenic overlook. It was amazing how far we could see when the clouds finally cleared. We could see forever across the valley, covered with fields and sprinkled with a few farm houses. Layers of mountain slopes swooped down as the greens faded to blues at the horizon. Lucas also answered all the questions the other guests had about the geology and engineering of the highways.

The town of Quilotoa is most known for the crater which generates most of the tourism. The enormous crater formed when a dormant volcano collapsed some 600 years ago. When we walked up to the rim, we looked down on the crater’s navy blue lake.The edges of the water showed more turquoise green from the dissolved minerals. I was glad that we arrived early when the skies are the clearest.

We briefly considered the hike around the rim but figured the scenery wouldn’t change much over the fourteen kilometers. We opted to hike down instead. Hiking in was easy. It was less than a thirty minute hike with a solid path. The path was well maintained and had switchbacks to ease the descent. The views were great on the way as we kept seeing the lake in more detail as we approached.

At the bottom of the crater we rented a kayak. Soon after we got out past the shore, it started to sprinkle. Then, thunder and lightning clouds came in from two directions and we thought better not to be on the water in the open. Just as we pulled the boat into shore an intense downpour opened up. We waited out the rains under a small pavilion with other hikers. A number  of dogs sat nearby patiently hoping for handouts from our pack lunches.

A half hour later the rains cleared so we started our hike out. We had to ascend almost 300 meters, plus we were at already above 3,500 meters above sea level. It took us almost an hour. One could say that the crater took our breath away, in more ways that one. I can see why many opt to ride a mule back up to the top.

Once we exited the crater, the rains came back again in full force. We caught a lucky break on our hike out. We took refuge in a small cafe that had smoke coming out of the chimney. It was a great place to stay dry, warm up and have a cup of coffee before our departure time.

Around Chugchilán

The Black Sheep Inn wasn’t located quite in Quilotoa but that’s the nearest well-known town. About twenty minutes drive down the main road is the small village of Chugchilán. One Sunday when we first arrived, the town was bustling. There were vendors at the market and families in the plaza. But when we wandered through again midweek, the place was mostly empty. There were some classes at the school, which draws children in from around the countryside. The market was closed but we found one small store open. We chatted with the store owner peeling potatoes outside, one of the only people we saw in the town. She warmly greeted us and helped us confirm the bus schedule back towards Quito.

Returning to Quito

We confirmed with a few people that the bus going towards Quito passes Chugchilán around 5:00 am and 1:00 pm. Since we preferred not to have such an early morning departure, we opted for the afternoon option. We waited on the side of the road ahead of time, knowing the bus could come early and we couldn’t risk missing the last bus.

The bus stopped often as it made its way to Latacunga. The route served as a defacto school bus and many school kids popped on and off. The adults seemed to be coming back from the markets and were hauling large sacks of produce. The conversations around us flipped between Spanish and Kichwa as neighbors greeted each other.

We even caught part of the movie “Pearl Harbor” on the ride. I appreciated this driver’s choice more than the terrible action movies played on all our previous buses. After two hours, the driver’s assistant let us know where we needed to get off to catch the next bus to Quito. He pulled over on the side of the highway outside of Latacunga where the connections met. Busses and taxis waited at the roundtable for their next passengers. With in thirty seconds we grabbed the first bus to Quito and we were on our way.