Wednesday 14th January 2026: Shy volcanoes and Lago Limpiopungo

The publicity shot

The reality

Volcan Cotopaxi, like El Misti in Peru, Villarica in Chile, Arenal in Costa Rica and Fuji-san in Japan is an almost perfect symmetrical stratovolcano - the sort a child would draw with lava spewing out the top.  We booked two days at a nearby lodge so we could have the very best views.  However.....

Since we arrived here the weather has been overcast, and whilst yesterday we could just about see Cotopaxi's lower slopes, today there was just cloud.  You would never know it was there.  Morning is usually the best time to see it before cloud builds, but today the weather was cruel.

The lodge where we are staying offers several tours to the park, including a hike up to Cotopaxi base camp.  We didn't feel up to that. but opted instead for a trek around Lago Limpiopungo, which stands at 3800 m asl.

On a good day, its still waters mirror the volcanoes of both Cotopaxi and Ruminahui, and the views are reportedly amazing.

We asked the host at the Lodge to book a trip for mid-morning so we could have a leisurely breakfast. (Breakfast is served at 7.30 am prompt.)  So we were flummoxed when he said our driver had arrived at 8.30 am.

Our driver, Olympia, was an official Cotapaxi guide.  We drove on dirt roads to the entrance of the National Park.

Entrance to the National Park Cotopaxi.

Further up there was an interpretation centre with a couple of super tame baby Alpacas.

Kevin on the summit of Cotopaxi.

Humboldt's original illustration of the Avenida de los Volcanes.

Relief of volcanoes Cotopaxi and Ruminahui.

The interpretation centre was pretty informative and Joan bought a souvenir apron to add to her burgeoning collection.

Once in the park, the roads were unmetalled with large pot holes. Luckily we were in a truck.

As we approached the Lake, the cloud began to lift and we could just about get tantalising views of the glaciers on the upper slopes.  We hoped the clouds might lift enough to see its crater edge, but sadly no.

Occasionally we could just see the newly renovated  Refugio Jose Rives, which stands at over 4800 m on the mountain.  Another of the tours on offer was to drive up to 4,600 m asl where, unbelievably, there is a car park, and walk the rest of the way to the refuge.  We preferred to see the flora and fauna one kilometre below.

Lago Limpiopungo is fed from the slopes of Vn Ruminahui, which was also shrouded in cloud.  The lake is very shallow.  There's 2.5 km walk around the edge, which we reckoned was enough to do at altitude as we're still adjusting.  Olympia asked if she could join us and we were glad she did as she pointed out different plants and was great at spotting lizards.

Lizard

Eagle

Flower of the Andes

Lizard

Joan with Ruminahui volcano in the background

Flower of the Andes

Gentian

Shy volcano with a dot which is the refuge.

You don't get these signs in Derbyshire.

Wild deer

Joan had been surprised by how lush the scenery was on the PanAmericana yesterday.  But here it was much more like the altiplano she loves - bleak, wind blasted and rugged.

Back at the Lodge,as Olympia dropped us off, the skies opened and were super glad that we'd gone earlier.

The Lodge we are staying at offers guests to either have a cooked meal or to make your own in the kitchen when the other staff aren't using it.  So we availed ourself of the facility to make lunch.

Tired and a bit wind blasted, we rested in the mess room in the afternoon.  Joan spent a lot of time trying to sort out a booking we made yesterday for two nights in Latacunga.  We'd made it via Booking.com but the owner messaged us to say the accommodation was not available and asked us to cancel.  We went on Booking.com and it said we were liable for a cancellation charge.  We therefore asked the owner to cancel it, but they said only we could do it.  This is the second time we've come across this on the trip.  Just before we departed another owner messaged us to say that they couldn't accommodate us and asked us to cancel.  But the liability for cancellation would fall on us.  The owner doesn't want to cancel as they would still have to pay Booking.com a commission still.

So this afternoon there was a bit of ping pong with the owner who wouldn't cancel their end and we've now reported this to Booking.com customer services.

Dinner here is really good.  A three course meal for $7.50, and all freshly prepared with local veggies.  They are really good at accommodating diets.

Most of the other guests disappeared after dinner, so we moved to the huge fireplace and hunkered down with a glass of Chilean's finest.