Cotopaxi - Up Above the Clouds!

We made the decision that we would not climb right to the top of Cotopaxi - a huge snow capped volcano near Quito that rises to almost 6000m. Instead, we booked a night at the Secret Garden Cotopaxi, which is an eco-hostel that has no electricity but fantastic views of a number of volcanoes. It´s a lovely, lovely place to stay and it is so peaceful and quiet, however it does cost $25 per night for a dorm bed although this does include meals and snacks. The hostel is really well organised so within minutes of arriving we were donning wellies and clambering up and down a river to a waterfall.

The next day we headed to Cotopaxi to climb up to 5000m where the glacier begins. The weather was horrendous and as we walked cold wind and rain lashed our faces and the altitude made it hard to catch our breath. Two people from our group of 7 turned back and sought safety in the jeep! We staggered on and eventually made it to the 4800m point, where there is a refuge and as we reached it the clouds cleared to reveal spectacular views across the national park. After a short break for a hot chocolate and some Oreos we hiked up to the glacier, and en route we saw some wolves! Once again as we reached the glacier the skies cleared and we were treated to more fantastic views.

The guide told us that we could run down the volcano, which we were dubious about, however we quickly realised it could be done and was great fun! We made it back down in less than 10 minutes, which is incredible as it took 2hrs to get up there. We enjoyed smiling and waving at all the climbers who were inching up the volcano step by step and who looked stunned to see us bounding down!

Cotopaxi was incredible and we would have love to have climbed to the top, but even getting to 5000m was a challenge at such high altitude. Next time!!

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