Our home base for our visit to Cotopaxi was The Secret Garden hostel. Their hospitality included terrific meals (including all-you-can-eat bananas, banana bread, and endless coffee and tea), beautiful grounds, amazing views of the valley and volcano, and a wonderful staff.
The Secret Garden Hostel
Cotopaxi from the hostel
On our first day we hiked to a local waterfall.
Hobbit rooms, very Lord of the Rings.
The cabañas where we stayed.
The hostel had llamas on the grounds.
Interesting fact, llamas love banana peels.
Yes, I'm wearing a puffy and a poncho!
Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano reaching an elevation of 19,347 ft. It is the second-highest volcano in Ecuador and is one of its most active. The most recent eruption began in October of 2022 and is still ongoing.
The various mounds in the valley are rock and earth from one of Cotopaxi's previous eruptions.
Cotopaxi offered dramatic views each day of our stay.
We visited Parque Nacional Cotopaxi to hike to the glacier and visit Jose Rivas Refuge (basecamp). The driver dropped us approximately a mile away and we got to experience hiking above 15,000ft. with our max elevation at 16,000ft, this was a first for us.
Beautiful valley views
Andean wolf
Jose Rivas Refuge sit about 3,400ft. below the Cotopaxi summit.
One of our activities was horseback riding in the rugged Andean plains. There was a chill in the air with fog, misting rain, and winds, and the scenery seemed otherworldly.
