The Quilotoa Loop is an amazing dirt-road route stretching from Latacunga to Laguna Quilotoa and then back.  It’s full of tiny villages, breathtaking views, and authentic markets.  Traversing the loop involved a few buses and lots of hiking!

We stayed one night in Latacunga at the beginning of the loop, and also left our big bags there so we wouldn’t be saddled with them while hiking.  The most remarkable thing about Latacunga is that it has been destroyed no less than THREE times by Volcán Cotopaxi.  We found this interesting because Latacunga is a lot farther away from Cotopaxi than Baños is from Volcán Tungurahua.  And the people of Baños say it can’t be destroyed, ha!

The first day of the Quilotoa Loop we took a bus 20 minutes to the Thursday market in Saquisili.  Lots of fun stuff in the market there!

Hand-crafted rope

Local women selling produce.

The best snack in Ecuador: mini corn pancakes filled with cheese and onion!

Hats!

Huge bundles of bananas. We had to take a picture to compare height.

The best way to end a morning at the market…the ice cream truck!

After the market we caught a bus three more hours (plus one more for a flat tire) to Isinlivi, where we stayed at the amazing Hostal Llullu Llama and made great friends with the only two other people there!  A wonderful start to the Quilotoa Loop!

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