16-day Expedition up 3 of the Highest Peaks in Ecuador

After arriving to Quito, the EAI team will meet you at the airport, take you to the hotel, and give you an initial program orientation.

We will drive north to Otavalo, a market town. During this day you will get a good idea of the indigenous population and the products they sell at the market. If you are going to take pictures, be discreet because this population does not like being photographed. After shopping, we will hike to the San Pablo lake, the biggest lake in Ecuador. We will also enjoy an Otavaleños style lunch. Afterwards, we will return to the hotel in Quito for the night.

We will take an acclimatization hike to the top off the Pichincha Volcano, where all participants can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view, while also getting adjusted to the altitude. Afterwards, we will return to the hotel in Quito for the night.

During this free day, Participants are welcome to join us on a scenic tour of Ecuador’s wonderful capital city.

We will depart Quito at 9 am, and arrive at the Cayambe Volcano Refuge at approximately 3 pm. We will spend the night at the Refuge.

We will wake up early, eat breakfast, and by 8:30 am, we will hike to the glacier. Once there, for approximately 6 hours, we will practice various climbing skills that will be utilised for the rest of the expedition. Afterwards, we will return to the refuge, and rest during the early evening, as the summit day begins at midnight.

We will all wake up at midnight, have breakfast and perform final equipment check. We will leave the refuge at 1 am, and climb with headlamps for the first 4 hours. We will reach the summit at approximately 9 am. We will return to the refuge at approximately 2 pm, and from there we will drive to the Guachala Hacienda for the night.

After breakfast at around 8-9 am, we will go to the Papallacta hot spring for a day of relaxation. We will stay at the Papallacta Resort for the night.

We will take an amazing, approximately 4 hour  mid-morning drive to the Antisana Volcano base camp, where we will set up camp for the night.

The group and guide will prepare the route for the summit trip that will take place at midnight. Participants will enjoy an early dinner, and go to bed usually around 6:30 pm.

We will wake up at midnight, have breakfast and perform an equipment check before departing at 1 am. We will reach the summit at approximately 8 am. After returning to base camp we will pack up and make the drive back to Quito, where we will spend the night in a hotel.

These 2 days will be about relaxation and recovery in the town of Banos, which we will arrive to at approximately 2 pm. Once there, we will spend the rest of the first day and night in the Hotel Sangay Bungalos before changing locations to a wonderful hotel across from the Ines Maria Waterfall.

We will leave Baños at approximately 11 am, and after 3 hours of driving, we will reach the Carrell Refuge of Chimborazo at approximately 2 pm. Once there, we will hike for 40 minutes to the Whimper Hut on the Chimborazo West Flank. We will then rest, have an early dinner, and go to bed by 6:30 pm.

We will wake up at midnight, have breakfast and depart at 1 am. The approximate climbing time to the summit is between 8 and 9 hours. We will return to the refuge at approximately 12 pm. Once there, we will make our way to Estrella del Chimborazo for the night.

We will depart from the Estrella del Chimborazo and drive back to Quito, where participants will be dropped off at the Quito International Airport to catch their flights home.