Backpacking Ecuador: 3-4 Weeks Ecuador Itinerary

Ecuador is a small country located in South America. It is right on the equator and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Colombia and Peru. You will mostly find very many climbers, adventure seekers, nature lovers and trekkers visiting this country.

Ecuador is known for its large ecological forests, the world-famous Galápagos islands, and the pristine tropical beaches, that are perfected by the sunny climate. You will also find a rich traditional culture in Ecuador and a splendid colonial architecture located in the capital city of Quito.

Cotopaxi Day Trip: Hiking and Cycling An Active Volcano

I sat at the tour office for a long time, contemplating with the staff if I should do the summit climb of the Cotopaxi volcano.

It wasn’t the physical challenge that deterred me.

Nor the altitude – Cotopaxi is the 2nd highest summit in Ecuador at 5897m.

See, Cotopaxi is one of the world’s highest active volcano and it erupted 2 years ago, after being dormant since 1942.

Even though the summit received the green light and reopened last month (after being closed for 2 years), there were still reports of sulphur emission.

I can be defeated by the toughness but not by a gas. I decided to do the day trip to the glacier line instead.

Getting Lost With Witches & Locals at the Quilotoa Loop

The dog barked at me.

I ignored it and continued walking.

The owner of the wooden shack came out and asked, “You understand Spanish?”

He then proceeded to tell me that I was on the wrong path. He advised me to turn back and take a small path on the right down the hill.

I walked back for almost 7 min and met at least 4 other trekkers going where I headed. This was a common occurrence on the 3-days Quilotoa Loop trek: missing the actual path and getting rescued by friendly locals.