Cotopaxi National Park is a protected area about 17 miles south of Quito. It’s main attraction, Cotopaxi Volcano, is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and the second highest in the country of Ecuador (about 19,347 ft at its summit).
When I found out that the hostel we were planning on staying at in Quito had a sister hostel in Cotopaxi, I decided it was a no brainer that we had to go for at least one night. Arranging transport between the hostels was easy. They do one routine trip between them once a week and if there is enough interest other days of the week they will do more. It cost $40 total each way for the van to go from one hostel to the next, and that cost was divided up amongst the passengers who wanted to travel that day. We got lucky that there was a lot of interest the week we were there so it only ended up costing us around $4-$5 per person each way for transport.
The Secret Garden Cotopaxi
If I had to do it all over again, I would have found a way for us to have stayed there longer. One night there wasn’t nearly enough. In order to get the full experience there I’d say you need at least 3 days, but more would be better. The reason we were in such a rush to get back to Quito was we wanted to make sure we could make it to the Saturday Market in Otavalo (next post!) and the days just didn’t line up to give us more time. That said, Cotopaxi is by far one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen! The landscape reminded me a lot of New Zealand because it was so lush and green. 
But then you were reminded of the fact that you were in South America because there were llamas!
Llamas!!!
The hostel itself was absolutely beautiful, down to every detail. I wanted to live in their kitchen!
The beautiful kitchen at Secret Garden Cotopaxi
And there was a long table where everyone had their meals together. One perk of staying here is that meals were included. Overall I’d say the food was very good, but also highly vegetarian. If you’re someone who needs a lot of protein to feel full, you might want to make sure you pack some snacks before heading out this way. Once you’re there, you’re pretty much cut off from the outside world. No grocery stores and restaurants in Cotopaxi!
The Dining Area
A factor that I had considered but definitely didn’t give enough credence when planning the trip, was the altitude. The Secret Garden Cotopaxi was around 11,482 ft above sea level; by far the highest elevation I’ve ever been at. The closest I’d ever come to that was a few years ago we went to the top of the Bear Tooth Pass in Montana, 10,947 ft. That was only for a couple of hours though and we had already spent some time on Montana at a slightly lower altitude to let our lungs adjust. We went to Cotopaxi a little over 48 hours after arriving in Ecuador! Quito, at 9,350 ft, didn’t give us much of a problem other than the occasional shortage of breath when walking uphill, so I thought we’d be fine! Oh how the mighty have fallen! Keep in mind too that I was recovering from the flu at that point and still extremely congested with a hacking cough. My oxygen intake was already compromised and then I went to a place where the air was thin. This wasn’t one of my most well thought out itineraries!
Sign naming all the peaks you can see from the hostel and their altitudes.
As a result, we took a more relaxed approach to how we spent our time there. We didn’t go on the group hike because I had a feeling I would be holding everyone back. Instead we went on our own excursion and took a long walk up the driveway (when you’re in a place as beautiful as this, that’s actually pretty exciting!).
Adam enjoying the hammocks at the hostel.
I really can’t describe how the air felt there. It was odd being at that altitude while also being so close to the equator. There wasn’t any snow except at the top of the highest peaks. Visually, it didn’t seem like we were that high. You could definitely tell when you tried to do anything active though. Walking ten feet there felt equivalent to running a mile. We barely made it half way up the driveway before turning back (to be fair, the driveway is nearly 6 km long), and afterwards we both felt like we had just run a marathon! In addition to being thin, the air was also extremely dry, which wasn’t helping my cough.
We also decided against going on the horseback riding trip we had originally signed up for. Neither of us had gotten any sleep the night before because I couldn’t stop coughing. There are much worse places spend a low key afternoon though. The hostel had self serve coffee and tea available all day (in addition to a refrigerator full of wine and beer for those able to partake!) and it was lovely to sit back in one of the hammocks on the patio and read a few chapters in my book while sipping a hot beverage.
It was also just fun to get to know the other travelers who were staying there. A good number of the people staying there had just gotten back from attempting to reach the summit of Cotopaxi and it was fascinating to hear about their experiences. Apparently the conditions hadn’t been very good that afternoon and only one guy from a party of 6 had made it to the summit. The guy we were talking to said the fog was so thick he couldn’t see two feet in front of him! For the summit tours, you would leave early in the afternoon to head up to the base camp. They would let you sleep for a couple of hours and then you would be awakened at midnight to start your assent. In order to reach the summit during daylight hours and still be able to make it back to the base camp before nightfall, you had to leave freakishly early.
Other activities the hostel offered was mountain biking, a jacuzzi, and an afternoon hike to a nearby waterfall.
The other wonderful thing was the big fireplace in the common room of the hostel. It was surprisingly chilly there, so there was nothing better than curling up by the fire after dinner. It took the poor girl in charge of it almost an hour to get it lit though because the air was so thin!
One sad fact was I was never able to get a photo of the actual volcano while we were there. On a clear day you get a clear view of Cotopaxi from the hostel, but for 3/4 of the time we were there it was obscured by clouds.
The morning we left, Cotopaxi did show itself for about 5 minutes while we were eating breakfast. Of course, I didn’t have my camera on me. Foiled!
Finally, there were animals! This might not be so thrilling to some people, but I’m the grown adult who will fight small children to get a good spot at the petting zoo! The Secret Garden Cotopaxi is a bio-dynamic farm of sorts. A lot of the food they serve there is raised on the premises. As a result, they had an awesome garden as well as chickens, pigs and sheep.
Friendly piggy!
We pet the horses too since we didn’t get to ride them.
Altitude sickness aside, Cotopaxi was a huge highlight of our trip. The hostel lent itself to such a variety of experiences that your stay there can be as adventure filled or relaxing as you want it to be. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never really had a bad hostel experience but this one was way above and beyond the others I’ve stayed at. I’m so thankful we were able to make it there and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
ourbrightlycoloredlife 