On an unusually clear November night, as I stood atop the volcanic soils of El Panecillo with 360-degree views of the valleys below, it was hard for me to tell where the glittering street lights of Quito ended and the stars began. As South America’s best-preserved colonial city (its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site), Ecuador’s capital is well worth a high-altitude view. The metropolis is also the hurdling-off point for trekkers like myself. I’m starting a multi-day hike on a 200-mile trail called the Avenue of the Volcanoes.
This centuries-old route runs from Quito in the north to Riobamba in the south, through some of the continent’s most iconic cordilleras (mountain ranges). Hikers trek along the spine of the Andes to several artisanal villages and past at least seven staggering volcano peaks.
The Pan-American highway travels the same corridor, allowing visitors to easily drive to different points on the trail and create short loop hikes spanning a few days. Ambitious mountaineers can scale much of the distance on guided expeditions over two weeks. The majority of trips, though, occur during weeklong point-to-point excursions. No matter which length you choose, companies like Kuoda and Rebecca Adventure Travel offer first-class, guided walks with transfers to and from the trail and immersive add-ons like heritage crafting and agricultural techniques from the Indigenous community.
The best time to go is during the dry season from June through September. These are generally intense hikes that require good physical condition—even the easiest Avenue tours roam through rugged ecosystems, ranging from rainforests to wind-swept highlands. Many trails drop steeply into valleys and then move up to dizzying heights of nearly 21,000 feet.
You may see poncho-clad vaqueros (cowboys) at Cotopaxi National Park; a local Quechua guide greets hikers at Chimborazo volcano.
Photo by Sunart Media/Shutterstock (L); photo by ireneuke/Shutterstock (R)
I arranged two full days acclimating in Quito before setting out, hydrating to ease the altitude effects and eating avant-garde Ecuadorian cuisine from the seven-course tasting menu at Nuema. From the lofty windows in suites at Michelin key–awarded Casa Gangotena, guests can get their first glimpse of ice-capped Cotopaxi. The majestic “Throne of the Moon” commands the skyline, illuminated in twilight’s alpenglow. This vision of Cotopaxi became a beacon of my imminent quest, as I prepared my body to ascend even greater heights.
“The truth is, there’s a huge individual variation in how people react to and adapt to high altitude,” says Tyler Andrews, a world-record holding ultra-trail runner who trains on the Andes’ tallest mountains. “The most common advice I give beginners going up, especially for the first time is, take it slow.”
After adjusting for a few days, I traveled to Cotopaxi National Park, about a 90-minute drive south of the capital. (Although I went by bus, tour operators can provide transportation.) The trek is a humbling five-hour climb in the Central Sierras, a stunning natural reserve featuring a glacial lagoon, wild horses, and unrivaled views of the world’s highest active volcano. If you’d like to summit Cotopaxi, Quito hotelier Marco Fiallo recommends the Dutchmen Adventure group, which specializes in exclusive ascents (including personalized acclimatization plans) and has been guiding icy treks here for more than 35 years. Whether you climb the peak or choose to continue onward along the trail, after a day of hiking in the national park, spend the night at Hacienda San Agustin de Callo, formerly an Incan fortress and monastery that was later converted into a grand hotel.
From the park, tour guides typically drive hikers to Isinlivi, a tiny village blanketed in verdant pastures, to start the most popular segment of the Avenue of the Volcanoes, the Quilotoa Loop. This circuit winds from village to village through at least eight Quechua communities over three to five days, and it can be done on foot or horseback. Encircling the extraordinary Quilotoa crater, this section of the hike has tremendous vistas of snow-capped Andes and plenty of alpine wildlife watching—llama sightings are guaranteed, but visitors should also look for hummingbirds, foxes, and the elusive puma.
Cotopaxi may look peaceful in the dawn light, but it has a long history of violent eruptions.
Photo by Ecuadorpostales/Shutterstock
I bookend my Quilotoa Loop hike at an Isinlivi lodge called Llullu Llama, an eco-property that feels soul-cleansing thanks to its spa with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the Andes. In the morning, I depart the hotel and scramble down the path into a craggy canyon and over a suspension bridge before arriving in the bordering village of Chugchilan. That night, I stay at the enchanting Black Sheep Inn, where staff prepare a daily fire in in-room wood stoves and serve traditional dishes like Locro de Papa (potato soup) in communal settings.
The following day, I set out across a steep basin before ascending another sharp trail-rise toward the ridge of the renowned caldera lake. Following a practically silent night in the tiny town of Quilotoa, I meander down winding switchbacks to kayak the crater’s brilliant turquoise shores. Afterward, I stand at the edge of the crater rim high in the clouds: The panorama is intoxicating.
Luxurious Chimborazo Lodge is the fourth stopover and a necessary resting place while acclimatizing to the Avenue’s highest altitude hike yet. The hotel restaurant, Estrella de Chimborazo, serves unforgettable international dishes like goulash reinvented with local varieties of corn and sweet potato, next to the Chimborazo Wildlife Reserve. And in the background, Chimborazo volcano, a national emblem, towers over all else—this peak is the farthest place from the center of Earth, more than Mount Everest, due to the Earth’s bulge at the equator.
This volcano is also a haven for budding mountaineers, providing an exhilarating but not overly technical climb. Elite expedition agencies like Alpine Ascent and Ian Taylor Trekking have custom programs with personal support, giving interested climbers a chance to traverse Chimborazo’s glaciers, hang out with once locally extinct vicuñas, and see the ancient woodland “paper trees” that form the highest treeline on the planet.
The misty town of Baños is full of hot springs.
Photo by Shad Meeg/Unsplash (L); photo by Zeke Tucker/Unsplash (R)
From here, many choose to drive about two hours to hike in Llanganates National Park. This area is famous for the legend of Incan Emperor Atahualap’s lost treasure, an alleged bounty of precious metals that were buried and never found.
At last, the final destination on the Avenue of the Volcanoes is the city of Baños de Agua Santa, aka the worldwide “Adventure Capital of the World.” Baños sits at the base of active Volcan Tungurahua, which constantly pushes plumes of ash and smoke into the sky. Here, tour companies like Jacada Travel tailor itineraries that include a mix of restorative geothermal soaks, waterfall rappelling, and whitewater rafting. There are plenty of four-star resorts, such as the serene Samari Spa, which offers the unique experiences of fruit-harvesting and bonfires, or restaurants like Ofrenda del Inca, serving grilled foods spiced with the native rocoto pepper.
I spent my time in Baños ziplining from hilltop to hilltop, just as a rainbow was bridging the gully below. When I returned to Quito, memories swirled in my head of cities flanked by fertile gorges, towns in misty cloud forests, and villages perched high on the tropical-grassland moors of the paramos. The Avenue of the Volcanoes gave me a chance to ramble through a medley of vertical microclimates and ancient rhythms of Quechua tradition, diving deep into Andean life while having the adventure of a lifetime.
