Chugchilan, Ecuador
8th August – 10th August 2017
Being woken up by the rain wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t lay in a tent and it wasn’t hammering it down! It wasn’t ideal that it was raining, as after breakfast we had to pack up and leave.
Breakfast was simple but good. Hayley’s cook group were in charge of breakfast and they just bought loads of bags of granola and cereal with yogurt and milk and fruit. It was a good start to the day.
After breakfast, the back locker needed loading, so me and Ruth went down to the truck, in the small gap of dry weather we had. When we got there, people had already put their own bags in the locker, very messily, which made our job difficult as I couldn’t actually get in the locker without standing on things.
Once the locker was loaded, it was time to take our tents down. We had a demonstration from Rianne and then it was down to us to help each other get the soggy tents down and put into the truck.
The rain made us move much quicker than planned, as we shouldn’t have been leaving until 10, but we were all packed up and ready to go by 9.30, so we set off early. We only had another short drive ahead of us (about 4-5 hours) but we were going up quite high, so the altitude reached about 4000m above sea level at our highest point.
Because we had set off early, the original plan changed slightly because when we had our first stop, it was too soon for lunch. We stopped in a town called San Miguel de Salcedo which is apparently famous for their healthy ice cream, so of course we had to try one! We parked he truck up wandered through the streets looking for the best ice cream place. I tried the traditional one which had four different flavours of fruit ice cream, including banana, blackberry and two fruits I hadn’t heard of and didn’t particularly like. We also had to buy our lunch in San Miguel as the next we were stopping would be on a mountainside with beautiful views, ready to eat our lunch.

Me and Ruth went wandering through the streets looking for somewhere to grab some lunch but because all the streets looked pretty much the same, we lost the truck. We found her eventually and with time to spare.
We carried on driving, getting higher and higher up in the mountains. When we found a lookout point (near Casa Quemada) on the side of the road, we stopped for lunch – we were 4008m above sea level. We got out and had a quick walk and took some photos but it was quite chilly and windy, so we didn’t stay out of the truck for very long. We ate lunch in the truck – I had my first empanada and I feel like I didn’t choose the best place to buy my first empanada but it tasted okay. The altitude didn’t seem to affect me during the short walk I took, so hopefully I’ll be okay for most of the time when we’re up high.

We carried on driving and started heading back down the mountainside towards our Hostel. We were heading into cloud forest which is higher up than a rain forest, it has steeper mountains and rockier river beds (instead of sand and mud on the river beds). The roads were long and windy so it took a little longer to get to the Hostel, as we had to drive slowly. Along one of the roads were huge holes where the land had slid and taken part of the road with it. It did not look safe but Rianne drove very carefully over all the cracks and stayed as far away from the edge as possible, so we were safe.

We arrived at our Hostel in Chugchilan and realised that David and Rianne weren’t kidding when they said there was nothing to do in the area. As we drove through the tiny square, all the shops were shut, but David put that down to it being siesta time. However, when we walked back up to look later on there was still just the one shop with about five items in it. We then wandered the opposite way from the Hostel down a hill to another shop David recommend but when we got there, there wasn’t much there either. The hills weren’t so easy to climb at 3700m above sea level.
Back at the Hostel we showered and chilled for a while until dinner was ready. Dinner was included with the Hostel, so none of us had to cook. We had soup, chicken and then strawberries with ice cream for dessert. It was enough to fill us.

After dinner we got moved to the common room so that they could set up for breakfast. I was one of the last ones standing but still went to bed relatively early.
It was a difficult sleep, even though I was back in a real bed. I don’t think the lack of air helped as we were so high up, but I was tossing and turning all night. We got a bit of a lie in, we just had to be ready to leave before 9, after having our breakfast. Breakfast was a big one: we had a bowl of fruit, yogurt and muesli and then a bread roll with a hard boiled egg. I couldn’t eat all of that though!
The trucks were ready to take us about 9am and some of us had to volunteer to sit in the back of the pick up truck to make room. It was very cold and there was a man selling woolly hats just inside the gates; I tried one on but it was too small for my head! Obviously I volunteered to sit in the back of the truck, but it was so cold on there, especially as we got higher in the mountains, the air was icy and it wasn’t like it was a short ride, we were in there for half an hour! I had my layers on but I still felt it.

When we got to Quilotoa, we had time to have a super quick look around a market while some had a quick toilet trip. The market had all sorts of warm clothing which looked so appealing after being on the back of the truck for so long. I invested in a woolly hat that did fit my head and it was the best $5 I’ve ever spent! It was so soft but also fleecy on the inside! It was well worth the money, plus it will definitely come in handy later on in the trip as well – I did not expect it would be this cold!
Once we were finished in the markets, we went to the first view point of the crater lake of the most western volcano in the Ecuadorean Andes – Quilotoa Volcano. The lake was absolutely stunning. The water was so blue and fresh looking – it would have been very inviting for a swim if it hadn’t have been so cold and windy!

At this viewpoint, we had three options: we could go back to the Hostel in the pick up trucks, we could walk one way around the crater, to a sandy patch we could see in the distance (and this would take one hour), or the final option was to walk the other way around the crater to the same sandy patch to meet the others (which should have taken 2 and a half hours). I chose the longer walk because I wanted the hike, but some of the hills were steep.


Eight of us (me, Ruth, Naomi, Rianne, Dan, Stephanie, Judie and Celine) set off in one direction, while the rest either went for a coffee (as their walk wasn’t as long), or went back to the Hostel. It started off relatively easy but I stayed near the back so that I could keep stopping to take photos – no photo could actually do the views justice though. The hat was the best addition to my outfit, as it really did keep me so warm! The views were beautiful on both sides: we had the lake on one and the mountains on the other.
We came to a little platform on the mountainside which had great views. The tour guide sent us up there, let us take photos and then charged us $1 each to be there. I found that quite strange that he didn’t tell us that part first.



Soon after the short break, we came to a very steep incline (which doesn’t look so steep on the photos, but we were over 3900m above sea level at this point. I went at my own slow and steady pace as I wanted to keep my breathing regulated, as the oxygen was quite thin. I had to take regular breaks and drank loads of water, but I got to the highest point of the volcano eventually!


From here, we still had quite a distance to go to get to the sandy patch where we were meeting David and Elisa. The guide told us it was all downhill from there, but that wasn’t exactly true. We kept on going, taking in all the beautiful views around, and we eventually reached the sandy patch, after 3 hours and 15 minutes (only 45 minutes late). David thought we had got lost and was getting ready to leave us. I was part of the slower group but I found going uphill so exhausting and difficult to breathe and I found going downhill difficult on my knees and difficult to not slip on the loose rocks. It had got sunny by this point and as we were walking it got hot, so the layers started to come off; however, as soon as we stopped, it got cold again quite quickly, so the layers went back on!

We stopped here for lunch, shaded by a shelter from the wind. Although, after not even half an hour, we were up again ready to move. We were now moving back towards the Hostel which we could see as a tiny dot in the distance!


The route this time was mostly downhill although it was still very sandy! It was a lot easier to walk on though and we took the easier route (instead of the extreme one that was also signposted) – the guide said it was too windy for the extreme route. The further down we got, the hotter it got as the sun was beaming down. After about 40 minutes, we were at a little town where we had a rest. I took my shoes off and noticed I had collected half of the volcano in them on the way down! We had the chance to be picked up here if we wanted to and get a ride back to the Hostel, but no one did, everyone kept going.


We carried on walking further and the uphills started to appear again. I still struggled but not as much as earlier on in the day, so I was impressed with that, I just took it at a steady rate, as I felt lucky that the only thing the altitude was affecting was my breathing! The views were so beautiful as we were now looking down into the valleys that the mountains have created. After about an hour more, we came to another little town (Punto de Compra), where there was a chance for people to be picked up again, so some did. There were now seven of us left (me, Naomi, Dan, Judie, Celine, Stephanie and Rianne).


Just as the truck was driving off, Rianne decided to tell us she had chosen the adventurous route to take is back to the Hostel, but I suppose it was better and more beautiful than just walking along the road.
It started off great, until the downhills started to become very steep and it was very sandy. I just ended up practically surfing down the mountainside at some points because it was so difficult to find grip – plus this got me down a lot quicker. As the paths were so uneven and difficult at the point, I had to put my cameras away so I could have two free hands – it was so much easier after that!
We were going downhill for a very long time which started to become a concern for us considering the Hostel was up and we knew we’d have to climb some more to get there! We trusted the guide anyway and carried on. Eventually we stopped going down and I braced myself for the incline ahead. Surprisingly, I found this incline much easier for me. I think I just concentrated on my breathing more and we were on a sturdier path (more like a road) instead of the side of the mountain.
The road soon ended and we had a more adventurous path to climb, but again it wasn’t as bad as I found it earlier, I seemed to be much quicker!
The Hostel was upon us much sooner than I expected, but I was so glad to see it! After 7 hours (with a very short lunch break and not many other breaks in between), we managed to hike 16.3km up and down some very steep mountains and made it back to the Hostel much quicker than the guide expected! We were very proud of ourselves, as it was a very tough day and we were literally covered from head to toe in dust. We waited at the finish line for everyone to catch up and we crossed it together, it was a good feeling!

Once I managed to drag myself up two flights of stairs to the bedroom, the first thing on my evening agenda was to shower. It didn’t feel too bad to begin with but as soon as my hair was covered in shampoo, the water cut out – not ideal! I thought it was because the girls next door were showering too, so I asked Ruth to check, and they weren’t. Ruth went down to check with reception and apparently the problem was fixed, only my shower still only had a trickle coming out of it. It had to do though because I needed to finish my shower somehow and I was freezing waiting for the water.
After my shower, I packed my bag, again – feels like I do that a lot these days – before dinner. IT took me longer than normal because I was so tired at this point. Dinner was good tonight, we had soup, a meat empanada with guacamole (which was delicious) and then a very heavy sponge for pudding.
I didn’t even wait around after dinner to see what everyone else was doing because I was so tired, so it was back to the room and chill for me!
Although Chugchilan itself didn’t offer very much, the hike was amazing! It was worth every ache in my body and worth every short breath I took, and I would probably do it all again if I had the chance, but instead it’s time for Cuenca!
To travel is to live, Katie x
5 Replies to “Chugchilan, Ecuador”
Brilliant! Your photos are amazing! 🌋💕💖💕
You are really pushing yourself to the limit. You will never have to say “I should have done that”.Im quite out of breath reading your latest blog.what a great girl!! Love grandma and co xxx
Stunning🌋!! I’m exhausted just reading about it! Hope you had a good sleep?! 😘Xx
Katie this holiday will last forever. You will be able to relive it and anyone else going on a similar holiday will be able to get ideas from your blog. Full of info. What’s next?
Fabulous photos x you are certainly having lots of adventures x keep blogging 😀😀