"Volcán Cotopaxi - 5897 metres" Top 5 Page for this destination Provincia de Cotopaxi by MalenaN

Provincia de Cotopaxi Travel Guide: 266 reviews and 1,404 photos

Morning view from Cotopaxi - Provincia de Cotopaxi

Starting the descend just before sun rise

Volcán Cotopaxi is an impressive sight with its almost symmetrical cone and glacier covered top. With an altitude of 5897m it is the second highest mountain in Ecuador (only Chimborazo is higher). Volcán Cotopaxi is not the highest, but one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. Today you can only see some steam in the crater if you are standing on the top, but Cotopaxi has had some big eruptions. The most violent ones was in 1744, 1768 and 1870.

For me it was absolutely a highlight to climb to the top of Volcán Cotopaxi, and I would very much like to do it again. It is not a technical difficult climb, but it is very important to be well adapted to high altitude.

Cotopaxi National Park covers an area of 33 400 hectares. Besides climbing the volcano many visitors come here for hiking, camping and cycling. There are day tours organised from nearby cities like Quito and Latacunga and they usually take you Laguna Limpiopungo, to the refugio at 4800m, and maybe to the edge of the glacier.

Cotopaxi National Park

I have visited several places in Provincia de Cotopaxi, but on this page I have only got tips about the visit to Volcán Cotopaxi. For the other places in Provincia de Cotopaxi that I have visited I have made separate pages:
Isinliví - 7 tip, 61 photos
Sigchos - 2 tips, 24 photos
Chugchilán - 7 tips, 101 photos
Quilotoa - 7 tips, 122 photos
Tigua - 6 tip, 73 photos
Zumbahua - 3 tips, 58 photos
Latacunga - 15 tips, 60 photos

Last visit to Provincia de Cotopaxi: Aug 2011
Intro Updated Jun 12, 2012
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Reviews (5)

Walking down from Refugio José Rivas, Cotopaxi - Provincia de Cotopaxi

Arriving to Volcán Cotopaxi and Refugio... Things to Do (4)

The parking area is situated at an altitude of 4500m and the refugio at 4800m, so if you are not acclimatised to high... more travel advice

On the top of Volcán Cotopaxi, 5897m - Provincia de Cotopaxi

Climbing Volcán Cotopaxi, to 5897m Things to Do (4)

After dinner we had gone to bed at 19.00. We were supposed to sleep until midnight, have breakfast and leave the refugio... more travel advice

Descending Volcán Cotopaxi - Provincia de Cotopaxi

Descending VolcánCotopaxi, back to the... Things to Do (4)

My guide Fausto had walked first during the ascent, but during the descent I was in the front. It was very easy to go... more travel advice

Early morning on Volcan Cotopaxi - Provincia de Cotopaxi

What will you need? What to Pack (1)

Equipment and cloths that I needed was included in the price. So from Tovar Expeditions I borrowed: - Long underpants -... more travel advice

Travelogues (7)

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Comments (9)

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GentleSpirit Mar 23, 2013 at 5:14 AM

What an amazing sight to see! Congratulations. It would be interesting to know how long in advance you prepared yourself physically for this climb? how long did you take to acclimatize?
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  MalenaN Mar 23, 2013 at 5:36 AM
  
  I had arrived to the highlands 20 days before doing the climb, spent a few days in Cuenca (with a day trip to Cajas NP), one night in Ingapirca and then a few days in Baños (which is situated at an altitude less then 2000m), Latacunga and finally hiking in the Quilotoa area for a week.
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toonsarah Sep 7, 2012 at 12:25 PM

Wow, what a sight - and what an adventure! We will visit Cotopaxi but such a climb is far beyond me I know. Never mind, I will be happy just to see the mountains :-)
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  MalenaN Sep 7, 2012 at 12:48 PM
  
  It was so beautiful and a great experience. I really want to do something similar again. I had hoped to climb Chimborazo this year, but with a broken wrist it was not possible.
  Cotopaxi is an impressive sight also from a distance!
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balhannah Aug 16, 2012 at 8:20 PM

What amazing scenery you saw, and what an adventure! Good on you!
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Redang Aug 9, 2012 at 7:49 AM

Amazing!
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Kuznetsov_Sergey Jun 18, 2012 at 9:37 AM

Lucky you were, Malena, to climb to the top of Volcán Cotopaxi! Absolutely exclusive shorts from there!
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Nemorino Jun 13, 2012 at 3:14 PM

So this is where your member photo was taken! I thought maybe it was from the Arctic somewhere, or the Canadian Rockies, but I never would have guessed it was from Ecuador, with all that snow. I love your description of your night-time climb up to the top of the volcano at 5897 metres.
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starship May 27, 2012 at 7:40 PM

Malena, your climb of Volcan Cotopaxi sounds so exciting!! You seem like a very experienced climber, hiker and solo traveler -- I have so much admiration for you!
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giampiero6 Dec 31, 2011 at 11:42 AM

Love it!
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richiecdisc Sep 23, 2011 at 11:00 PM

Some killer shots from the top of Cotopaxi, Malena. Just gorgeous light. We were there a bit too late to climb it but loved the big perfect cone from the lake below.