Cotopaxi - A Place Like No Other

After some city life in Quito, I was heading to Cotopaxi National Park, home of the famous Cotopaxi volcano. My plan was to stay 4D/3N. I was also told that the hostel there might as well be the best one in the entire world - and I can say that yes, it is definitely up there.

What made the hostel so amazing? The views are simply spectacular, you can constantly feed the llamas with banana peel, unlimited supply of fresh-baked banana bread, hammocks, cute dogs, no internet, jacuzzi, ponchos, etc. I could go on forever.

Upon arriving, I quickly made a group of friends, and after we had lunch, we headed out for a little stroll through a nearby waterfall. In the evening, we took advantage of the things the hostel offered, played cards, and just sat around sharing stories.

For our second day, we decided to climb up Pasochoa, which is a little hill, but still at an elevation of >4600m. While not a difficult hike, the altitude certainly makes this a bit more challenging as it would be lower down. The views, however, got better and better the higher we walked with more and more snow-capped volcanoes appearing in the background. We also had a bunch of dogs accompanying us the entire way. The trip took us around 5h return and once we got back, we took the rest of the afternoon easy, enjoying the incredible view of Cotopaxi from the hostel, ate banana bread, fed the llamas and soaked up the sun.

On Day 3, four of us decided to go horseback riding. And oh my, was that just next level. It started slowly via riding the horse at a walking pace, getting to know the animal, enjoying the surroundings and stopping for some light snacks in the middle of the national park. Then the fun began.

We crossed a little creek and in front of us unfolded the huge plains of the Andes. That meant one thing, the key thing why we decided to go horseback riding: Galloping.

So, we lined up the horses and then were off to the races. A feeling of true freedom overcame us riding the horses through the wide plains, feeling the wind in our faces and leaving all the worries behind. We could not stop smiling afterwards. And to top it all off, when we slowed down, we passed a herd of 40-50 wild horses, grazing happily, looking at us 'strangers' and simply living their free lives. What an activity that was! Wow. It was simply incredible.

On the last day, it was time for a physical challenge and we decided to climb up Cotopaxi until the glacier starts at above >5000m. Since we start at 4700m already, it wasn't really challenging as we were taking it slow, but still with a great feeling of accomplishment when we arrived up there. And again, the views were just fantastic.

To top it all off, though, we opted to pack up some mountain bikes on the car to bike down the Cotopaxi volcano. Since I've never really mountain-biked before, I thought why not here. I gotta say, it really goes into the forearms and hands as I constantly had to use the brakes. It was such great fun, though, and a perfect way to end my time in the Cotopaxi National Park.

Places like Cotopaxi and the Secret Garden Hostel are the reason why I travel. They exude good vibes, a great sense of adventure, invite amazing people to do all the things with and simply are full of energy. It is certainly a place I want to return to one day, as climbing up Cotopaxi to the summit would definitely be something I want to do.

So far, Ecuador has given me a lot more than I hoped for and exactly what I needed.Read more