Majestic Cotopaxi: Epic Volcano Adventure from Quito

This trip to Cotapaxi was my absolute favourite of the many day tours I did while in Quito. Jessica was an excellent guide and made the day fun, as well as informative. Lots of interesting stops along the way then the big climb! The lunch stop (additional charge) was great too. Cute restaurant/inn with an assortment of animals. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a tour with Jessica.

Cotopaxi is beautiful and well. worth visiting. The highlight of our trip was actually our guide Irene who was fantastic.

We just returned from our trip to Cotopaxi, and while it was a long and tiring day, it was absolutely worth it. The views are spectacular and truly unforgettable. Irene made the experience especially enjoyable. She is friendly, funny, and extremely knowledgeable. I speak both English and Spanish, and she did an excellent job in both languages. Everything she explained in Spanish was repeated in English with great accuracy. I’ve been on other bilingual tours where important details are often lost in translation, but Irene’s translations were nearly perfect. I would also like to express our gratitude to our driver, Andrés. Some portions of the road are dangerous and uncomfortable, but he made the entire drive feel safe. Thanks to his skill, the journey was completely uneventful in the best possible way.

Quito is a gateway city that so many of us just pass through on the way to the Galapagos or the Ecuadorian Amazon. This was our second time in this charming city and we were so happy we spent a few extra days here before venturing out. The highlight for me was a very full day tour to the magnificent and still steaming Cotapaxi volcano. Our group was small and our guide, Irenita, did an incredible job giving us all the kind of insights about the people and places that even the best travel sites don't seem to cover. Irenita managed our multilingual group with charm, enthusiasm and a whole lot of humor and great local lore. We learned for example, that the indigenous people believe volcanos are living beings and the big star of our day - Cotapaxi - was a particularly jealous one. Basically, after some devastating heartbreaks by surrounding volcanos, Cotapaxi was left perpetually searching for new loves - although on a short term basis. Irenita told us that Cotapaxi reveals himself to his latest love by showing his face to her. As we got closer to the volcano, the clouds keep moving in and finally covered the entire top. And then? As we wound our way up the bumpy road and turned the corner, the clouds at the top parted! And just to add a flourish Cotapaxi blew out some steam for us. Just as we got ready to leave, the clouds swooshed in and left us departing in the rain with a spattering of hail on the side. After our dramatic turn with Cotapaxitour also took us to a rural restaurant where we were able to sample typical Ecuadorian country food. And as a bonus - or Yapa as the Quecha tradition of throwing in a little extra is known - we got to feed some llamas there and one managed to tug away from his tie up for a short romp in search of the carrot keeper. Llama got the carrots. The carrot keeper kept all fingers. This is why I travel - to meet great people and learn a little more about their lives and their land. mas YAPA! As for some practical observations, a visit to Cotapaxi means you're way up in the heights. I think we were at 14,000 at the volcano parking lot and that's before the walk up to the base camp. I opted not to take that walk being a sea-level dwelling 67-year old looking at upcoming knee surgery. The day is long. Bring small bills for local stops and change for the occasional bano stop that charges coins. I am happy that more local operators are able to provide these trips through the larger tour aggregation sites. It makes a difference all around.

What an incredible day from start to finish. Communication ahead of the trip was clear and thorough, covering the plan, pick up, food and every detail of the tour itself. A special five star mention for Irene whose passion for her country and deep knowledge of the mountains was truly inspiring. It is rare to find someone so knowledgeable and equally eager to share that passion in a way that genuinely enriches the experience. And a big thank you to Jimmy, our outstanding driver, who navigated the rocks and rugged terrain with such skill that the journey felt smooth and effortless throughout. An unforgettable experience that I would highly recommend to anyone.

Great day trip from Quito. We lucked out with great weather and saw many of the surrounding volcanos as well as Cotopaxi. We live at sea level so I could feel the altitude as we began to drive up the park road. Take it slow up the trail and enjoy the views. The park road is gravel/rough but our driver Jimmy handled it very well and made it safe and as comfortable as possible. Our guide Irene was also fantastic! Very knowledgeable about the volcano and her love of Ecuador made our trip special. Both Jimmy and Irene made sure everyone was enjoying their time which was much appreciated.

Wow! What an amazing trip! We got extremely lucky with the weather, it was nice and sunny so we were able to see all the volcanos and it wasn't too cold. Pickup went very smoothly and the company communicated properly. We stopped for breakfast, te de cacao, stop at the museum and national park, hike to the refuge point, and had lunch and it was all very affordable and worth the trip. Jessica (our guide) was wonderful, knowledgable, passionate, and helpful during the hike. If you're in Quito - take the time to do this tour.

Good journey, short in time but very interesting. Cotopaxi was covered with clouds but we had just 5 sunny minutes enough to admire the peak. The guide was excellent. Good explanations, with humour adn fully aknowledged with the region

Great tour of Cotopaxi! Veronica our guide had so many nuggets of information along the way. The views were breathtaking! Highly recommend!

The tour guide Jessica is so very kind! She makes sure everyone is ok and takes rest during the hike. The whole trip was well paced and so much fun!