Friday 16th January 2026: Bus journey to Quilotoa lake

 

So far we have used informal taxis to move us around the country, partly because Cotopaxi National Park is in the countryside and our hotel there was off the beaten track.  It's not that expensive to get drivers but it all adds up.

One of the highlights of Ecuador is a visit to Quilotoa crater lake.  A stunning green lake high in the mountains.  Finding information about buses up there was a bit hit and miss and we weren't sure how remote it was.  We had made some enquiries about getting an organised tour but the prices quoted were ridiculous - $300.

Last night, Esteban, our host had said that if we wanted to get there we would need to make an early start.  So at six Joan awoke, filled our trusty Stanley flasks with tea and we headed off to the bus station.  The taxi there cost us $1.50.

At the bus station, we asked at the various kiosks where we could buy tickets.  We were directed to the Quilotoa desk, despite all the desks being owned by the same company.  There was no one there but eventually a portly man came (see picture above)  and issued us with two tickets - $6 and showed us where the bus would come in.

The bus station was like organised chaos with drivers shouting out their destinations.  We'd been allocated seats 1 &  2 behind the driver.

Signs on the bus. 

We set off with the driver and his assistant, doors still open.  People were jumping on even as we were moving.  It all seemed a bit random.  There are no bus stops.  You can wave a bus down anywhere and similarly get off anywhere.  As the bus travelled through the town, people jumped on for a few minutes and then jumped off, apparently for no charge.

The driver didn't care what side of the road he was on and spent a lot of time shouting into his mobile phone.

We saw some painted signs left over from last year's election with President Noboa's name on them. The words traitor and liar had been sprayed next to his name.

Last year, Noboa scrapped a subsidy on fuel, which hit farmers and indigenous groups hard.  There were riots and protests and a state of emergency was declared in some parts of Ecuador, including Cotopaxi.  A curfew still remains in place.  You can see the comments above calling for diesel to be subsidised.

The door of the bus was rarely closed and the driver's assistant stood by the open door for most of the journey. A local woman sat next to the driver.

A women in a green shawl asked the driver to stop for a minute.

There was a street seller with a basket of live chickens.  He pulled one out, tied its legs together and the woman brought it back to the bus.

At a roundabout, we stopped briefly and a man got on with a tray with bowls of fried chicken and chips. He went down the bus selling them, and the driver and the woman next to him bought some.  Despite the fact the seller was still on the bus, the driver drove off.  When the seller had sold as much as he could, he was dropped off and had to walk back to his restaurant.  

After that, it became more rural and the driver's assistant came round to collect fares and tickets.

The scenery was  beautiful.

People seem to park randomly and don't care if they block the street.  The bus driver was shouting and pipping his horn to get cars to move but the owners were in no rush.

Local shop.

Man selling live chickens.

Farming.

We eventually reached Quilotoa and disembarked.  The journey was just over two hours.  There were some tight hairpins, where local dogs lay in the middle of the road and would not shift for no bus.

To enter Quilotoa there is a $2 charge.The altitude is 3914 metres asl and the air was very thin.  Just walking the short distance to the crater rim left us breathless and light headed.

We passed grazing alpacas.

The top dish for sale at this restaurant is chips with guinea pig.

The Quilota crater lake was stunning - an emerald green.  It felt like a set from a Bond film or Thunderbirds, where the lake would part and reveal a hidden rocket launcher underneath.

Quilotoa crater was formed by a massive volcanic eruption (VEI-5/6) around 800 years ago, leading to the collapse of the volcano's cone. This eruption expelled an estimated 18 cubic kilometers (4.3 cubic miles) of volcanic material, blanketing much of central Ecuador with ash and debris. The intense explosion left behind a massive, roughly circular crater 3 kilometres  in diameter and 250 meters deep. The size of the eruption was similar to Vesuvius in AD 79 and Mt St Helens in 1980.

You can do a ridge walk which takes 6-8 hours, but we passed on that.  Instead we headed to a restaurant right on the crater's rim where we had brunch.  

You really couldn't have a more spectacular place to dine.

It cost $17.50 for two meals and a couple of coffees.

You can walk down to the lake and hire a canoe, but Joan had been pre-warned by a work colleague who had previously worked in Ecuador.  The walk down takes 30-40 minutes but because of the steepness and altitude, the return journey can take 2 hours.

Dog and pig roaming wild.

We passed the hostel where we originally planned to stay, before calling off with worries about altitude.

We realised we had just missed the bus and would have 90 minutes to wait so we mooched around.

This house is half built but has furniture downstairs,

Waiting for a bus.

Entrance to Quilotoa.

We noticed a mother and child squatting by the roadside as if waiting.  Then a bus came up and we asked where it was going.  The assistant said it was going to Chugchillan but a bus back to Latacunga would come shortly.  Sure enough, a few minutes later we heard the tell-tale horn of a bus approaching.

We boarded.  This bus was more comfortable with reclining seats and it showed dubbed American films.  It also cost $5 - one dollar less and was faster.  (But not as entertaining)

The scenery on the way down was amazing.

Street stalls.

Sellers would board the bus in the villages, selling snacks and drinks.

Dogs by the road.

Latacunga railway station.  The Ecuadorian rail network closed during Covid and has never fully reopened.  Only a couple of tourist trains run over short distances.

Bus station ticket offices.

Bus station

Bus station dogs.

Back in Latacunga we caught a taxi home, bought some wine, Kevin finished his novel and Joan wrote the blog.

What a great adventure!

From our apartment, we can look to where Vn Cotopaxi is meant to be and as night fell, the cloud lifted a little.  If you look very hard at the photo below, you can make out the righthand slope, the summit plateau and some of the glaciers.