Volcano Climbing Cotopaxi (5897 m) and Chimborazo (6310 m) + Galapagos Islands

Today you can fly in at any convenient time. Group members meet at the airport or directly at the hotel. Check-in to a hotel in Quito. The capital of Ecuador is located at an altitude of 2800 m on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano.
The historic center of Quito is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and should be visited for at least a day. Staying in Quito is also about acclimatization, as the body needs time for an hour of adaptation and also to get used to the altitude. Night at the hotel.

First, we’ll go on a sightseeing walk through the streets of the old city. An incredible number of cathedrals, churches, palaces, and unusual buildings from the colonial era. Quito is built on hills among majestic mountains, which adds to its charm.
Next we will move to the equator line, which is 24 km from Quito. The zero latitude is in the village of Mitta Del Mundo. The place is marked with a yellow line, there is a monument with a huge globe. We will also visit the “Museum of the Equator”. Return to the hotel.

The first two days in Quito can also be called acclimatization. Early breakfast and transfer to the Pichincha volcano (4696 m). We will rise to 4000 m on the cable car “Teleferico”. By the way, it is considered the highest cable car in the world. We will cover the remaining 696 m on foot. In cloudless weather it is possible to observe the magnificent landscape of the outskirts of Quito. The ascent initially goes along a beautiful dirt road, and immediately below the summit along a rocky path.
Descent. Return to the city. Overnight at the hotel, Quito.

We continue our acclimatization. Today we are leisurely packing up, after breakfast we are going to Lake Quilotoa by a chartered bus – a beautiful lake in the crater of a volcano. The journey takes about 3 hours. Walk to the crater. Overnight at a hotel near the lake.

After breakfast, you can walk along the edge of the Quilotoa crater. Free time. After lunch, we will move to the small town of Machachi, and then to a very authentic mountain lodge (hacienda) at the foot of Cotopaxi, which is located at an altitude of 3600 m. From here, in clear weather, there are beautiful views of Cotopaxi. You can devote your free time to walks in the surrounding area.
Overnight stay in a hacienda at 3600.

Moving to the national park at the foot of the Cotopaxi volcano. The bus will take us to the parking lot. From here the distance to the shelter is about 2 km (1 hour walk), you need to walk to the shelter. If you wish, you can take a porter to carry personal items. We carry a sleeping bag and equipment for climbing.
The shelter is quite comfortable, there is even a small climbing wall – perhaps the highest climbing wall in the world. Early lights out.
Night in a high mountain shelter (4810 m).

Wake up at 11 am and climb to the top of the Cotopaxi volcano (5897 m). Departure around 0:00. The ascent takes about 8 hours. In good weather, the Ecuadorian volcano range is visible from the top, and the top itself is a bright crater funnel. Technically, the climb is not difficult, except for the last 100 vertical meters, where part of the slope has a steepness of 35-45 °. We pass part of the climb in groups, simultaneously. There are cracks in places, we go around the icefall.
The descent takes about 2-3 hours.
Return to Machachi, lunch. Transfer to the town of Banyos (1800 m). In Banyos we live in a comfortable hotel with a SPA complex. Night at the hotel.

The first half is for a walk around the city and a trip to the “tree house”. We’ll take a ride on the famous swing over the cliff, and optionally go paragliding. The city of Baños is a small resort town where life goes slowly. It is pleasant to spend time here after the climb.
After lunch we go to Chimborazo National Park. The journey takes about 4 hours.
Today, we’ll spend the night at one of Chimborazo’s most iconic sites – a lodge built by one of Ecuador’s most famous climbers, mountain guide Marco Cruz. Chimborazo Lodge is a mountain refuge located in the Valle de Totorillas at an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters above sea level. The lodge is built on the site of an old “tambo” (an ancient mountain shelter/stop for travelers).
The lodge consists of several houses and a dining room-kitchen. The complex is a real mountaineering museum, with a rare collection of photographs, equipment and other utensils. In addition, the lodge windows face the Chimborazo volcano. Alpacas and llamas graze freely near the lodge.
Overnight at the lodge.

Not very early we leave by car to the mountains, to a height of 4800 m. Today we will move to a tent camp at a height of 5300 m.
The camp is stationary, we only carry our personal belongings and a sleeping bag. The transition from the parking lot to the camp will take about 2 hours. Dinner in the camp canteen. Preparation for the ascent. Overnight in tents or a large tent.

The ascent to the volcano (6310 m) begins at night, around midnight, and lasts 8-11 hours. The ascent is physically difficult, not accessible to all travelers. The ascent goes first along a scree rocky slope and goes to 5800 on a glacier with a steepness of 35-45 °, and above 6000 m – to a gentle plateau. Chimborazo is an extinct volcano that erupted about two and a half thousand years ago. The name means “ice woman.” The mountain is considered the farthest point from the center of the Earth. The summit is always above the clouds.
A panorama of the volcanoes of Ecuador opens from above. Descent lasting 4-6 hours to the Hermanes Carel shelter (4800 m) to the car. Further descent down and return to Baños. Night at the hotel. Celebrating the successful completion of the mountain part.

We will spend most of the day in Baños. In the morning, rafting on one of the rivers of Baños. You can devote your free time to buying souvenirs and just relaxing. In the afternoon transfer to Quito. The journey by bus will take 3-4 hours.
If desired, the trip can be continued by visiting the Pacific coast and staying for a couple of days in Montanita or Olón. Here you can just chill on the beach under the palm trees, or take surfing lessons.

Early transfer to the airport. At 09:30 departure to the Galapagos. Arrival to Baltra Island at 12:20. Transfer by boat to the island of Santa Cruz (10 min), then by bus to the town of Puerto Ayora. Accommodation in a very unusual hotel, on the territory of which giant Galapagos tortoises live.
After a short rest, transfer to the ocean and trekking through the cactus forest to the beach of Tortuga Bay. Watching numerous sea animals and birds. Return to the hotel, dinner. Free time.

Early check-out, around 6:00. Sea trip on a speedboat (2 hours 30 minutes) to one of the most interesting islands of the archipelago – Isabela Island. Accommodation in a hotel in the small authentic Galapagos village of Puerto Villamil. We live right on the ocean. A 20-minute boat trip to Las Tintoreras Island, a large lava fissure with clear water. Watching white-tip reef sharks, stingrays, seals, penguins and blue-footed boobies.
With any luck we’ll see them all. Snorkeling through lava fissures, watching the marine life. The excursion takes 3 hours. Return to Isabela, free time to watch the sunset.

Breakfast at the hotel. Trekking to the Sierra Negra volcano, which has one of the largest craters in the world (11 km in diameter, 90 meters deep). Climbing to the edge of the crater and group photo. Then trek and viewing of the active volcano Chico. After returning and a short rest at the hotel, an evening free walk along the beach and the surrounding area. Free time, contemplating the sunset.
If you wish, you can also take a walk along the coast and snorkel in Concha perla (Pearl Shell Bay) to the east of the village, and Tunnel Estero to the west.

Early check-out, around 5:00 am return by boat (2.5-3 hours) to Baltra Island, transfer to the airport. Return to Quito in the afternoon. Night at the hotel.

Today, you can plan your flight home at any convenient time.