Quilotoa lagoon in a day, from Baños or Quito

We pick you up at your hotel at 8:30 am and drive along the Avenue of the Volcanoes towards Quilotoa. On the way we stop in Tigua, a community of artists known for their paintings and masks, and at the Toachi river canyon, which also helps you acclimatise before reaching the crater rim at almost 4,000 metres. From the top, the view over the emerald lagoon is breathtaking. Hiking down into the crater is optional: you can stay at the viewpoint or walk down to the water and come back up on foot or by mule. After an Andean lunch, the private transport drops you at your hotel in Baños, with your luggage on board if you come from Quito, without any public buses.