{"id":9856,"date":"2020-01-08T22:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/54.211.235.180\/?p=9856"},"modified":"2022-04-25T22:13:59","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T22:13:59","slug":"quilotoa-volcanic-crater-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maldotravels.com\/es\/south-america\/quilotoa-volcanic-crater-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Quilotoa – Volcanic Crater Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From Quito, it’s about a 3-hour drive south and it’s easiest to get there by car. An organized tour from Quito would be the best option. For a cheaper alternative, you could first take public transport to Latacunga<\/a>. From here, you can take another bus or hire private transportation to\u00a0Quilotoa<\/a>. There’s a small town at the top of the caldera which has some hostels, restaurants, and a parking lot. When entering the small town, there is a 2 USD<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> fee per car. This is the only fee and gives everyone access to the lake. We got there at around noon and after parking the car, we first headed to a viewing deck at the tip of the caldera. There are several great spots to take pictures of the lake.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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After taking some pictures, we headed down the trail to the lake. It’s mostly rocky but in some parts, there is gravel\/sand. It took us about 35 minutes to get down to the lake. There’s a small shop by the lake where you can buy some snacks and drinks. You can also rent kayaks for 30 minutes (3 USD), 1 hour (6 USD), and 3 hours (10 USD). We rented some Kayaks for 30 minutes and managed to row about halfway into the lake. We got a bit wet from kayaking, so after giving the kayaks back we dried off in the sun by the small pier on the lake. We then went for a short walk by the shoreline before heading back up. The hike up is steep and more challenging but you can rent mules for 10 USD to take you back. I walked back up and it took me about 50 minutes. The altitude makes it harder and I was very out of breath by the time I got back up.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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We then had some lunch at a restaurant in the town before heading back to Quito. On the way back, we stopped at the Toachi River Canyon<\/a>\u00a0which is a short 20-minute drive into the journey. It’s quite an amazing sight as it looks like the ground has been torn apart. It was a quick 15-minute stop for pictures before continuing on our way back. Whilst on the highway back to Quito, we caught a glimpse of the towering Cotopaxi volcano. The skies where quite clear and we could see other volcanos in the area which made for a great drive back.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Head out on an adventure to visit the clear turquoise green lake which lies in a volcanic caldera. The viewpoint has great views of the lake and you can hike down to rent some kayaks to set out into the 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