Itinerary Cotopaxi 1 Day Biking Tour

At 08:00 AM we leave Quito and after driving south for 1,5 hours on the Pan-American Highway we reach the park entrance of Cotopaxi National Park. We drive through pine forest and soon reach the museum of the park. After visiting the museum and savouring a cup of ginger tee we continue the ascent in our 4-wheel drive vehicle until we reach the highest point of the tour, 4.500 meters/15.000 feet. The view from this point is stunning and on a clear day we are able to see 8 volcanoes. We then put on helmets, gloves and protection 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 páramo landscape. At 3.800 m. you actually have to do some pedalling heading down another 8 km between volcanic rocks and wild horses to our lunch spot by an Inca ruin at 3.700 m. With some luck 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 16 km downhill biking on dirt roads through pine forest. After another 2 km on a beautiful single track the bike adventure is over for this time and around 16:30 PM we are back in Quito again.

Itinerary Nono_Tandayapa 1 Day Biking Tour

Drive westwards from Quito towards the coast, over the Andes using the old road Quito-Mindo until 3100 m of altitude. At this point, we switch to our mountain bikes and start the descent towards the cloud forest located on the West slope of volcano Pichincha until we reach the cross roads to Tandayapa (2000 m of altitude) This is a 40 Km bike ride on a dead road, void of traffic. You'll enjoy a picnic lunch before we continue biking until reaching the small birding paradise of Tandayapa. Watch the vegetation change from paramo to cloud forest to low mountain forest as you whiz down the mountain. Keep one eye on the road and the other peeled on the sky: there's a good chance to see parrots, hummingbirds, toucans and caciques. On our way back to Quito we stop for a 40-minute-hike among verdant forest. We intern ourselves in the cloud forest to visit a waterfall. We return to our 4-wheel drive jeep and continue on the Calacalí-La Independiencia road towards Quito. This is a very scenic loop enjoying the views. The landscape is diverse with patchwork fields of lush vegetation and the high sierra plains. We stop for a visit to the rim of crater Pululahua. Before we reach Quito, we pass the monument to the Mitad del Mundo

Included in price