Mountain Biking in Cotopaxi National Park

We leave Quito at 7:00 am and after driving south for 1 and a half hours on the Pan-American highway we reach the park entrance of Cotopaxi National Park. We drive through the pine forest and soon reach the Visitors’ center of the park. After visiting the Center we continue the ascent in our 4-wheel drive vehicle until we reach the Parking lot at 4.500 meters/15.000 feet. The view from this point is stunning and on a clear day, we can see 8 volcanoes. Hike to the Refuge for an amazing experience. Descend on foot and then we put on helmets, gloves, and protective pads, and the bike adventure on the world’s highest active volcano can begin. The first 8 km will take us down 700 m on dirt roads through volcanic ash and tundra landscape. At 3.800 m. you have to do some pedaling while we head down another 8 km between volcanic rocks and wild horses to our lunch spot by an Inca ruin at 3.700 m. If we are lucky, we might see a condor or a caracara. We put the bikes back on the jeep and head for the lake of Limpiopungo at 3.800 m where we start the last kilometers of biking along amazing scenery. After this, our bike adventure is over for now, and around 16:00 we are back in Quito. This is the standard itinerary that we always try to respect. Please keep in mind that due to the nature of this trip, we sometimes have to be flexible because of weather conditions, or the biking skills of other participants.