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Worldwide Travel Te Travel Guide 21


Travellers have the chance to watch artisans working on traditional crafts and visit historic cities born out of resilience in the high-altitude climate


Stop two: Quito Te Andes tend not to be associated with urban sprawl, but Quito, Ecuador’s capital, hugs these steep peaks for miles. It’s home to South America’s best-preserved 16th-century centre, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, whose array of spindling spires and stone archways are built atop the ruins of an Incan stronghold. Replete with rose-hued Spanish townhouses and flower- bedecked balconies, the city that was once the site of conquests and revolutions feels, architecturally at least, unchanged. Yet, its modern spirit is flourishing. Intersperse your visits to churches and museums with tours of vivid street art, indulgences in contemporary fusion foods and nights at innovative cocktail bars. Quito is also an ideal spot in which to acclimatise before embarking on any Andean adventures: the city sits 9,350ft above sea level — an impressively high altitude on its own, but nothing compared to the heady heights of the vast volcanoes that dominate its horizon. Top tip: You can travel up one of Ecuador’s volcanoes without breaking a sweat thanks to the TelefériQo cable car, which takes passengers from Quito to the eastern flanks of Volcán Pichincha. Tere are hiking trails, horse-riding routes and scenic viewpoints at the gondola’s end point.


Stop three: Cotopaxi Cotopaxi’s conical peak is one of the most prominent in the Pacific Ring of Fire, and an unmissable figure on the skyline for travellers driving the two-hour route from Quito. Intrepid visitors with experience


hiking at high altitude can pack their boots, but this isn’t an experience to take lightly: the volcano’s steep crevasses and glacier aren’t suitable for beginners, and hiring a guide is strictly mandated. Give yourself time to adjust to the staggering 17,000ft altitude and, ideally, attempt the summit between September and February to avoid intense winds and technical sections unveiled by melted snow. Te route to the summit takes all night, setting off from base shortly after midnight and emerging as the rising sun stains the snow gold. If that sounds too extreme, there


are plenty of adventures to be had inside the surrounding Cotopaxi National Park. During the wet season, walkers can spot Andean gulls and flittering hummingbirds on the walking trail that circumnavigates Laguna Limpiopungo. Lucky visitors may even catch glimpses of some of Ecuador’s shyest animals, including pumas, carunculated caracaras or Andean bears, foxes and condors. Top tip: Try climbing one of the lower nearby volcanoes, like Pasochoa (13,780ft) or Rumiñahui (15,500ft) to acclimatise before Cotopaxi.


Stop four: Quilotoa Lake Although only an hour-and-a-half drive from Cotopaxi, the Quilotoa crater lake differs drastically from the volcano’s rough crag. Keen hikers can attempt the


Quilotoa Loop route, which covers a 22.4-mile tract between Sigchos and Quilotoa, taking in rivers, verdant valleys and Indigenous villages along the way. It’s not technically challenging, and enthusiastic travellers can complete the itinerary in two days, accounting for the 3,280ft rise in altitude along the way. For those wanting to spend less time


here, there are a number of shorter stretches that can be achieved on an action-packed day trip, stopping off for coca tea or small snacks in the Indigenous villages perched above the crater rim and witnessing the traditional Andean way of life still alive there. Alternatively, it takes around five hours to complete the trail around the rim of Quilotoa, but travellers can also choose to head straight to Mirador Shalala viewpoint for one of the best vantage points. Top tip: Want to enjoy these crater views from a different perspective? Follow the path down to water level and rent one of the kayaks available from the lake shores, then paddle out to the centre of the wide, emerald lagoon. Swimming isn’t forbidden here, but be warned — the water is frigid year-round.


Stop five: Cuenca Te white-walled, cobbled streets of Cuenca make for a calm reprieve from the Andes’ vertiginous crags. Tis historic city is oriented around the towering rotundas of its immense cathedral, built, like many of the structures here, by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Topped by rust-hued ceramic roofing, Cuenca is the epitome of an Andalucian-style South American city, where areas with a mild climate and moderate altitude were favoured by Spanish settlers. Cuenca’s atmosphere is mild, too (it’s famously a hub for Catholic nuns and American retirees), making it an ideal rest point for recuperating hikers. Use your time here to taste typical Ecuadorian food in Mercado 10 de Agosto, explore impressive churches and, in the evening, enjoy a wine and a show at the lively Jazz Society Café. Top tip: Various rooftop spaces — bars, cafes and restaurants — have opened around Cuenca over the last couple of years, allowing visitors to catch the best panoramas while enjoying a fiery canelazo drink. Try Negroni bar for views of the cathedral or Rooftop Cuenca for sweeping cityscapes.


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