We, a fit middle aged couple and fit mom-in-law in her mid 70 are thinking to do the Quilotoa Loop end of February, coming from Banos.
Is it going to be very rainy and challenging?
What can we accomplish in 3 days? We don't want to make it too too strenuos.
Is it possible to just take a bus to Zumbahua or anything nearby, do the crater loop and go back?
Thank you very much for your input.
The "loop" is not really a continuous marked walking track all around. The individual sections are long and some need to be connected by buses or truck taxis. You can take a bus to Zumbahua from Latacunga, but it's not nice a place as Chugchilan, which is wonderful. You can take a bus to Chugchilan from Zumbahua or Sigchos. You can walk from Chugchilan to Isinlivi, but it is long and difficult (we were told, we didn't do it), or from Chugchilan to Sigchos or from Chugchilan to Quilotoa (not much of a town, but the crater is wonderful). We got a ride from Chugchilan to Quilotoa and walked back, about 4.5 hours, but we are over 70 and a little slow. There are some steep downhills. We talked to people who walked from Isinlivi to Chugchilan, stayed over 2 nights, and then walked on to Sigchos.. So how long it takes depends on how much you want to do and which route you take. We had rain one day in the morning and it sometimes rains at night, not very predictably. We were there in December.
We stayed in Chugchilan 4 nights and did mostly shorter walks, all very nice. We stayed at Black Sheep Inn, which was great, but people also like Mama Hilda's, which is less expensive. Any of the places to stay can also arrange transport for you. Some of the bus times are a little inconvenient.
The hike from Quilotoa to Chugchilan is not difficult, mostly downhill.
Bad weather is possible, in particular in Quilotoa often in the mist with zero visibility.
The trek from the top of the crater down to the lake is quite streneous, especially when climbing back to the top. It's high altitude about 3900m.
Good luck to you, and especially your mil.
#2, weather is weather, unpredictable. I had good weather and sunshine all the way (month Dec).
My husband and I (both 60) stayed at Black Sheep Inn and loved it. There are lots of shorter hikes to do. Difficulty partly depends on how much acclimatizing you've done beforehand. One hike I don't recommend is the hike around the carter of Quilatoa. It is very rigorous, and can be dangerous. Visiting the crater and walking back to Chugchilan is a good option, but I wouldn't consider that an easy hike, either. If you only have 3 days total, including getting to and away from the area, it would be pretty crunched.
Thank you very much. We'll plan around all your precious information.
Wishing you all more wonderful travels!
I did a 4 day chunk of this hike, going from Tigua to Quilotota, Quilotoa to Chugchilan, Chugchilan to Isinlivi, and the 4th day returned to Latacunga. Often times the trail is hard to follow and physically demanding so I wouldn't take it lightly. Sounds like there are some good suggestions on here, but if you are interested, here is our blog article about the experience.
http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/calvinandhobbes/1/1365287692/tpod.html
Semi-detailed instructions for any leg of this hike can be found at Hostal Tiana in Latacunga.
Highly recommended is a day at the Saquisilí market on Thursdays.