Our final adventure in Quito involved another climb. This climb was to the Pichincha Volcano, located on the eastern edge of Quito.

To get to this destination, we flagged down a taxi that knew where to go. The volcano is just outside of downtown Quito and because addresses are not always used in Quito the taxi driver had to know the location.

Our driver took us to the base of the mountain. From there we took a cable car called Telefériqo Cruz Loma which is the highest cable car in South America. The twenty-minute ride took us up to an altitude of 13,000 feet. The cable cars have bike racks for those who want to take their bike to the top of the mountain and ride down. Hikers can also hike to Rucu Pichincha, which is one of the peaks of Pichincha. It is a 3 to 4-hour hike to the summit over 15,000 feet.

The Top of Pichincha Volcano

At the top, there was a little café, a gift shop and a small plaza where artisans were selling their handicrafts. There is even a small church located along the trail to the summit. We were intrigued by a small kiosk where we could purchase fruit flavored oxygen. At 13,000 some people have altitude sickness and there were plenty of warnings throughout the area to return to Quito if we had trouble breathing. Also available to purchase were small containers of oxygen for hikers who planned to hike further up to the summit.

This brought back memories of our hike in the Andes Mountains in Colombia three years ago. I could have used oxygen during that hike regardless of the flavor. That hike was tough and very slow as we made our way to the glacier at the summit, over 15,000 feet.

We wanted to hike the trails, however, according to the trail maps, higher altitudes required hiking guides. So, we started our hike on a well-groomed trail to see how far we could go. We came across swings that were constructed in such a way that it appeared that we were swinging out over the mountain. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day, so our photos didn’t have the desired effect, but it was fun anyway.

As we continued our hike, we came across a woman with llamas. For $1 (Ecuador uses the American dollar for its currency) we donned ponchos and hats and had our photos taken with the animals.

The landscape was beautiful even on this cloudy, overcast day. We enjoyed our hike although though we had to stop frequently to catch our breath due to the reduced oxygen at 13,000 feet.

The high-altitude city of Quito was interesting and well worth a visit, but it was time to say goodbye to the mountains and Quito. Even though we are only in this city for two weeks, we felt we explored the city and learned about its unique culture and history

Next, we move on to Cuenca which is a much smaller city than Quito. We’re excited to visit another city and learn about the people and culture of southern Ecuador.