Full-Day Tour to Quilotoa Lagoon From Quito with Lunch
Description
In this tour, we will visit the Quilotoa Lagoon which is in the Cotopaxi Province by the town of Pujili. It is a unique tourist attraction in South America and is considered one of the 15 most beautiful volcano crater lagoons in the world. We will also visit an indigenous market, an indigenous hut, and more... It is a full-day tour, with lunch included, highly recommended.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will visit Saquisili indigenous market (only on Thursdays), This market is famous as a market where animals are being sold or exchanged for other goods, you would be able to also see the different fruits and vegetable and food that is typical to the area, you would be able to see and interact with the indigenous salespersons and of course to purchase something if you'd like. In this market you can also find some handicrafts.
We will visit an indigenous hut on the way to Toachi Canyon. we would be able to see the routine life of an indigenous family, how they live, what they eat, how they cultivate their crops, etc. It is custom to leave a small tip here (1 to 3 USD is reasonable) to the indigenous family. When we arrive at the Toachi Canyon we stop to see the spectacular view in this place.
Finally we will arrive the spectacular Quilotoa Lagoon, here you can hike down to the shores of the Lagoon, down there you can rent a kayak (approx. 5$ for 15 minutes), you can also rent a horse, to climb back up (approx 10$) if you wish, or you can also come back up Hiking, up to you. After that we will have lunch.
Enjoy paintings, culture, and landscape of Tigua
Romerillos (only on Sundays) is a peak in Tocachi, Pedro Moncayo Canton, Pichincha and has an elevation of 3,276 metres. Romerillos is situated nearby to the village Tocachi, we will make a short visit to the market of this town.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Necessary Equipment: Comfortable And Warm Clothes, Windproof Jacket (Optional), Gloves, Neck And Ear Protection, Camera, Sunscreen, Comfortable Shoes For Walking In Mountainous And Sandy Terrain.
- All times are approximate
- We can accommodate dietary needs such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc. If you have dietary requirements. Please kindly indicate it to the special requirements at the time of booking.
Reviews(6)
Great day getting to know a small part of the robust geography of the Ecuadorian highlands and of course, the spectacular Quilotoa.
¡Gracias por tu maravillosa reseña! Nos alegra que hayas disfrutado de un gran día explorando la impresionante geografía de la sierra y, por supuesto, el espectacular Quilotoa. Tu experiencia nos motiva a seguir creando momentos inolvidables.
The tour started by visiting a local market. It sold veggies, fruits, rice, meats, cooking oils, etc. We spent 30 minutes there and the market was not interesting. Then we visited an indigenous family. This was more interesting. Then we only 2 hours at the Laguna. That was not enough time at all, if you wanted to go to the Laguna shores. Then we spent another hour at a lunch place. The food was ok.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience and for your thoughtful 4‑star review. We’re glad you enjoyed meeting the indigenous family and spending time at the Laguna, even if the visit felt a bit short. Your feedback about the market and timing is very valuable and helps us improve the balance of our tours. We appreciate your comments on the lunch as well, and we’ll continue working to make each part of the day more enjoyable. We’re grateful for your trust and look forward to welcoming you again with even better experiences!
Anthony was a great guide, offering the group explanations in both Spanish (which I could practice) and English (so I could understand, haha). The activities were well-timed to break up the diving necessary, the bus was comfortable (even if the roads aren't always!), and the included hot meal was a nice taste of Ecuador. The volcano and lagoon are of course the highlight, and was an amazing experience! I cannot recommend strongly enough renting a kayak and going out into the middle to take it all in. :-) Note that you'll need to be pretty fit to make the hike back out at such a high elevation on foot (but riding a horse out is also an option for $10/person). All in all, just a fantastic day and overall experience (and workout!)!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful experience with us! We’re delighted to hear that Anthony’s bilingual guiding made the day both informative and enjoyable, and that the timing of the activities, the comfort of the bus, and the hot Ecuadorian meal added to your adventure. We’re thrilled that the volcano and lagoon left such a lasting impression, and we love your recommendation about kayaking out to the middle—it truly is a magical way to take it all in. Your thoughtful note about the hike back at high elevation will surely help future travelers prepare, and we appreciate you highlighting the horse option as well. It means the world to us that you had a fantastic day filled with discovery, culture, and a bit of a workout too! Thank you again for your kind words and 5-star review. We hope to welcome you back for another adventure soon. Warm regards, The Kajol Lavan Travel Team
About 2.5 hrs in total at Quilotoa. About 45 minutes to decent and about 1.5 hrs to get back up Not much time for boating at the lake. Pretty cold at the lake level. If you are planning to use a horse to return back up, the horse I had really struggled. So, if you are like me 80-90 kg plus the backpack, it could be a problem. I chose to get off the horse about 1/3 of the way up and struggled back up the rest of the way under my own steam. It is quite steep.
Thank you for the review, safe and happy travels!
It was great in many ways. I got to see and learn a bit about Ecuador. Make sure to have many one dollar coins for small purchases and tips to indigenous people. Why I can't give 5 stars is that I was disappointed that there were no horses available and I had to hike up the Quilotoa. The hike up took me about 40-45 minutes and hiking down was probably 20-30 minutes. So having the two hour time there, was quite inefficient. I still believe that horses could have been arranged with prepayments and so forth but that was not the case. The guide David was very kind and did everything to make the trip as good as possible so great thanks to him.
Thank for the review Daniel, There are always horses(more like mules to be exact) at the place for renting, the indigenous people are offering their mules for rent, as the guide have specified to you, you have to let them know you want to rent a mule, before you go down, when are already down at the lagoon, it is not possible to let them know, because the mules are up. best regards Itai
