Visit a local family and learn about their culture, we will learn about the guinea pig culture.
Discover the artist town, here we will lear about the Naif art.
Visit To The Viewpoint Of Quilotoa: Hike And Visit To The Quilotoa Lagoon: The crater of the dormant volcano forms a bowl that collects the azure waters of the lagoon. Its color is due to the accumulation of sulfur. According to legend, this was the scene of the battle between the Quilotoa gods who lived on the surface and Toachi, who was under the lake, because that aroused envy the ability of the first to reflect the color of the sky. Visit To The Artisan Workshop In The Community Of Tigua: Color is the protagonist of the stories that narrate the crafts of Tigua, works that are manufactured by the community of the same name. These paintings bear geometric and figurative forms, typical of the pre-Columbian and colonial times respectively. The traces expose the passage of time, which is an important element of the Andean worldview. Most are masks made of pine wood and paintings created on sheep skin, which tell experiences of everyday life.
Quilotoa Tour Full Day With Lunch - Quito
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Tour Information
Key Details
- Mobile Voucher Accepted
- Hotel pickup Available
- Duration: 11 Hrs
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Language:
English
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Departure Time :
07:00 AM
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Return Details :
What to bring: *Jacket *Beanie *Scarf *Sunglasses *Hiking shoes *Sunscreen *Photography camera
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Cancellation Policy : This activity is non-refundable Tours booked using discount coupon codes will be non refundable.
Overview
After admiring the beautiful Andean landscape thru the south bound highway, we arrive to the Quilotoa Zone, our first stop will be in the Shalal overlook which you would recognized by its transparent structure. There we will be able to admire the beautiful Quilotoa Lagoon with its incredible turquoise waters. From this point, we will descend to the lagoon where you will have free-time to visit it, the ascent is thru a path that connects us to the lookout of the community. (The ascent is over steep, so it is recommended to go up on a mule for people who are not in good physical condition). After you lunch break (not included), we will make our way back through a craft workshop in Tigua, famous for its picturesque paintings, and will visit the Rio Toachi Canyon.Know More about this tour
Itinerary:
Visit a local family and learn about their culture, we will learn about the guinea pig culture.
Discover the artist town, here we will lear about the Naif art.
Visit To The Viewpoint Of Quilotoa: Hike And Visit To The Quilotoa Lagoon: The crater of the dormant volcano forms a bowl that collects the azure waters of the lagoon. Its color is due to the accumulation of sulfur. According to legend, this was the scene of the battle between the Quilotoa gods who lived on the surface and Toachi, who was under the lake, because that aroused envy the ability of the first to reflect the color of the sky. Visit To The Artisan Workshop In The Community Of Tigua: Color is the protagonist of the stories that narrate the crafts of Tigua, works that are manufactured by the community of the same name. These paintings bear geometric and figurative forms, typical of the pre-Columbian and colonial times respectively. The traces expose the passage of time, which is an important element of the Andean worldview. Most are masks made of pine wood and paintings created on sheep skin, which tell experiences of everyday life.
Inclusions
- Bilingual Guide (Spanish English)
- Lunch
- Tourist Transport
- All Entrances
Exclusions
- Details not specified
- Tips
Additional Info
Infants are required to sit on an adults lap
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Traveler Reviews
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Beautiful destination. Really friendly and knowledgeable guides who seemed to take a lot of care of anyone falling behind. Bus is a little rough if you have motion sickness at all. Prepare for that if it’s a risk.
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Our group had just 4 people plus our guide, who was very friendly and encouraging and spoke great English. We had a nice van with big windows to see the beautiful scenery (and numerous cute dogs) as we drove. However, I'd recommend adding a couple stops along the route so we could get pictures of the mountains on the way to or from Quilotoa (we did take a stop at a canyon and at a place where you could see Cotopaxi in the distance). On the way, we stopped at a place where you could get breakfast or snacks, but it was very expensive. When we arrived at Quilotoa, we hiked down to the crater and had time to kayak ($3 per person) and get pictures (Note: There were large lockers for rent for $1 to keep things you wanted to make sure stayed dry). Then we hiked up. It ended up being a slow hike as one group member had altitude sickness, but we didn't have to stay together during the hike. Along the hike there was an opportunity to take a picture with an alpaca for $1. Then we had just enough time for lunch (no time to look around the town or visit the shops). The included lunch has your choice between 2 soups, your choice between beef and chicken with rice, and a small dessert, which you eat together with your group. The food was good, but not as tasty as other places in Ecuador. After this, we continued directly back and were dropped off at our hostel. It was a good tour with nice views, but the crater was not as brightly colored as in pictures. However, the scenery on the way probably made up for this. Tip: Bring lots of layers, as we needed warm hats, gloves, fleece, etc at the top and just light clothes at the bottom.
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Nice escape from the city and Quilotoa is great for pictures. Do note it’s a 3hr’sh drive each way on sometimes windy roads (in case you get car sick) but that’s just the route to get there. Note. It states that lunch is included in the description, but it wants included on our trip, not a big deal just worth mentioning.
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I got picked up at the designated time from my hotel. Guide was friendly. Scenery was beautiful. I didn’t make the hike to the bottom of the crater to the lake but enjoyed walking around the top and seeing the shops in the little town. Not recommended for people with bad knees.
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We loved this tour and Mauro! The hike was amazing, lunch was delicious, and he was great to talk with.
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Quilotoa is a magical place you have to visit. Mauro the tour guide is the best and so patient with me, a slower walker down the hill. John the driver is also the best because he made every turn on the mountain so carefully that I didn’t get sick on the bus. The crater lake is still alive when you kayak into the lake to see the bubbles that come to the surface of the lake because of the sulfur releasing from the volcano. This is really an amazing place to be. In order to come up from the lake in time to meet the group, I hired a mule for $10 to take me up to the top. I felt bad that the mule and a guide were working so hard to take me up to the top. Quilotoa is a must have tour when you go to Quito.
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The tour I bought on line included an stop at the Shalalá look point but I was informed it was a mistake. I choose this tour among the others because I was interested on see this structure since it has won some worldwide recognition for its design. They supposed to pick me up at 7.15 AM. After 30 minute waiting I called then to see what was going on. They pick me up close to 8.30 AM, almost 1 hour late. The Guide explained to me they had picked up another person by mistake. Unfortunately it was raining in Quilotoa, so the visibility was very poor and the hiking to the crater was very danger due to the rain and the mud. The trail is in a very bad condition in general so it was a very difficult hike. The guide took with part of the group a short cut to the hike up, but I was not part of the lucky ones, he never told me, so I took the long way. Lol It would be good advice for the people in rainy season bring extra clothes to change after the hiking since it is really uncomfortable the drive back with wet clothes. The bus did not have heater either. Lunch need some improvements. Quilotoa is beautiful, the hike is worth it, so this tour is a most do during the time on Quito.
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This was one of my favorite tours mainly because of the guides. Irene and Carlos were so much fun and had great energy. They bought us roses, had a dance competition, bought a bday cake for someone on the tour who had a bday, and were generally just so fun to be around. The actual tour activities were great too - we stopped on the way to check out a huge canyon, then once we got to the lake we had plenty of time to walk down and even kayak ($3) for a bit before heading up for lunch. There's also a chance for photo ops with alpacas ($1). Before leaving a bunch of us stopped at a store to have t-shirts made which delayed our return a little bit, but all tours in this region of the world are on "South America time."
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Hola, solamente un mensaje porque queremos decir muchísimas gracias a Irene y a Jacqueline, nuestras guidas que han sido mágicas con nosotros. A veces es difícil de ser turistas porque no sabemos si lo que estamos haciendo esta bien o no. Gracias a ellas, hemos podido descubrir cosas y también preguntarlas sobre todo. Ha sido muy interesante en todas las conversaciones que hemos tenido. Además, sus intervenciones en el bus y sus energías positivas solamente puede darte una sonrisa. Sin olvidar nuestro conductor: Mauricio, que ha sido parte de los dos viajes. La laguna y el volcán eran increíbles como todo el día. Poder entrar en vuestra cultura así es un privilegio y nunca seremos suficientes reconocidos por esto. Así que, solamente un muchísimas gracias a vuestros tres; merecéis mucho positivo en todo. Clara&Alex
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The hole tripp wos very very nice, the tourmanager did a great job and she is a very frindly person!!!
