Itinerary 10 days / 9 nights

Day 1: Fuya Fuya 4200 m – Otavalo

Pickup at your hotel in Quito and then we travel north; in a 2 hour trip through the mountains of the Andes we reach one of the most popular tourist destinations, Otavalo. There we will take a small road, which will take us to the Mojanda lagoon, where our first trek to the Fuya Fuya will start. After the trekking we descend to Otavalo and enjoy the beautiful hacienda where we will have dinner and spend the night.
Accommodation: Hacienda / Hotel
Meals: box lunch, dinner

Day 2: Cuicocha trekking – Otavalo Market

Our trekking around the Cuicocha Crater Lake will take us 5 hours. After that we will visit the major city known for their Ecuadorian leather Cotacachi and continue to descend to Otavalo where we will visit the market. The Otavaleños are the most traditional indigenous in Ecuador and differ by their clothing from other indigenous in Ecuador. Here we will have the time to buy crafts and enjoy the colorful market. In the late afternoon we return to our hotel to rest.
Accommodation: Hacienda / Hotel
Meals: breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Day 3: Imbabura 4700m

We start at the foothill of Imbabura 4700m. This imposing mountain has the perfect positive slope to train in altitude, from 3400m to 4600m. As the dominant geographic feature of the area, Imbabura is of significant importance to the local culture, which involves a spiritual relationship with the land. The mountain is sometimes personified locally as Taita Imbabura, or “Papa” Imbabura. In fact, Imbabura is considered the sacredprotector of the region.Imbabura is most frequently climbed from the town of La Esperanza or where the road ends about 4 km above it in the village of Chiruasi. From Chiruasi, the altitude gain is approximately 1600 meters.. A very nice hike with great views to the valley of Ibarra and hopefully see Cayambe. This is one of the most hiked mountains in Ecuador previous to higher altitude mountains. We traverse an hacienda and then start the hike up the moorlands and ending with a rocky terrain and small fun climb. The route follows a ridge and reaches the false northern summit then we return to the Hacienda to rest.
Accommodation: Hacienda / Hotel
Meals:  box lunch, dinner

Day 4: Papallacta Thermal Springs

We will go to Papallacta area to enjoy the hot springs in the morning or we do an optional hike around the area, the vegetation is very special, despite the altitude you will see a lot of tropical plants and a unique fauna, small rivers and waterfalls everywhere. During the hike we go to the moorlands, observing the Andean nature and natural lagoons. In the afternoon we head to the south to our next wonderful lodge in the central Andes.
Accommodation: Lodge in Papallacta or hotel in Tumbaco depending on budget
Meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 5: Mountain Refuge Jose Rivas 4800m / Cotopaxi

We head to the direction of Cotopaxi National Park. The road to Cotopaxi refuge by is unique. You often see wild animals such as horses, bulls, birds, rabbits and foxes. We drive almost 1h from 2900m to 4500m, where we leave our car. The last 300mts to the hut we make by foot. Before sunset we have dinner and try to sleep a few hours, at midnight our adventure will start. The unique and compelling Cotopaxi 5897m is waiting for us.
Accommodation: Refuge Jose Ribas
Meals: breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Day 6: Climbing Cotopaxi 5897m

The big day of the trip begins shortly after midnight at 4800m. 6-7 hours will be needed to get to the main summit of the World famous Cotopaxi (5897m). A complete alpine glacier hike, surrounded by beautiful mountains and the lights of the capital in the background. The goal of ascension is to reach the summit when the sun rises to enjoy the magnificent colors and views. We need 2-3 hours for the descent. We head to our next lodge for a well-deserved rest.
Accommodation: Lodge
Meals: pre-ascent breakfast, box lunch for ascent, dinner

Day7: Iliniza Norte 5116mor light trek Ilinizas reserve

Today we have 2 options. Do a short recovery trek or if feeling strong do Iliniza North summit. The journey takes us about 1h to the Virgin statue nearly at 4000m through a bumpy track. The hike to the hut will take us about 2hrs, from the cottage to the main summit of the Illiniza Norte another 2hrs and for the descent, we need about 2-3 hours until we reach our transfer. We go to rest at our hotel.
Accommodation: Lodge
Meals: breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Day 8: Chimborazo trekking and rest

After breakfast we head to the central Andes to the base of Chimborazo.We go for a beautiful trekking from the base of the mountain refuges to out lodge. We will admire the moorlands, views and meet the Andean camelid, alpacas and vicuñas. We rest at our hotel.
Accommodation: Lodge
Meals: breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Day 9: Chimborazo, Refuge Carrel 4800m

After a light lunch we drive (4800m Carrel Refuge) up to the first hut of Chimborazo. Here we will have early dinner and try to rest. We sleep in the shelter and get up at 9pm. A steep climb awaits us to the top of Ecuador!
Accommodation: Mountain Refuge
Meals: breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Day 10: Chimborazo 6263m and back to Quito or extension

The ascent of Chimborazo normally takes 10 hours to the main summit and 4 1/2hr. for the descent. We will thus be on foot for over 14 hours, which will certainly be working our legs. The summit is huge and breathtakingly beautiful. If we are lucky we can see the Tungurahua, an active volcano that spits out ash clouds from time to time, but is not dangerous. After the descent of Chimborazo we drive back to Quito or to our following destination.
Meals: box lunchbreakfast for ascent