"Hiking and Climbing Around Cotopaxi Volcano" Provincia de Cotopaxi by VA_Dave

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

Cotapaxi has a perfect volcano crater - Provincia de Cotopaxi

Climbing Cotopaxi Volcano

Of all the volcanoes in Ecuador, Cotopaxi (19,348 ft or 5897m) has caused the most death and destruction, completely destroying Latacunga three times in 1742, 1768 and 1877. It was first climbed by Wilhelm Reiss and Angel M Escobar in 1872. Today it is the most visited and climbed volcano in Ecuador.

The climb is not technically difficult, but ropes, ice-axes and crampons are absolutely necessary. The climber must be in good physical condition and have the proper acclimatisation time. The climb may be attempted year round.

The Cotopaxi area has the highest number of clear days per year in the Ecuadorian Andes and has an average nightly temperature of -15° C. The crater has a circumference of about 800 meters.

2 days is all you need for this climb. I rented all the equipment I needed in Quito. Your guide will give you the hour of training in the use of crampons and ice axe and rope that you need for the climb.

The adventure started at midnight. We reached the glacier in about 45 minutes after leaving the hut. After roping up we began the glacier climb towards the large rock band known as Yanasacha (Large Black Rock) in Quechua, and then on towards the summit with an ascent time of 7 hours. The descent time was 3 hours. YMMV!

Pros and Cons

Pros:Beautiful mountain and surrounding paramo
Cons:The weather and altitude can be a problem
In a nutshell:An adventure awaits you only 2 hours from Quito

Last visit to Provincia de Cotopaxi: Sep 2006
Intro Updated Sep 22, 2006
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Reviews (1)

Another beautiful day on top of Cotopaxi - Provincia de Cotopaxi

You can climb Cotopaxi! Sports & Outdoors (1)

You can climb Cotopaxi (5,897 meters or 19,347 ft) if you plan ahead. #1 Get in shape before you get to Quito. I did... more travel advice

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Comments (3)

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MalenaN Sep 27, 2010 at 9:45 AM

Climbing Cotopaxi sounds fantastic!
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malianrob Apr 10, 2007 at 6:58 PM

I only made it to the refuge as well. That alone was enough of a work out!
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laura36035 Oct 5, 2006 at 8:04 AM

WOW! After seeing this, I'm not so proud of myself for making it to the refuge! :-)