Quito: High-Altitude Hikes and Volcanoes
Every hike near Quito starts high and goes higher, so the altitude caveat applies to all of them: Quito itself sits around 2,850 meters, and every trail below climbs from there. Give yourself at least a full day at rest in the city before attempting any of these, and treat headache, dizziness, or nausea on the trail as a signal to turn back rather than push through.
TelefériQo to Rucu Pichincha. The cable car itself climbs from about 2,950 to 4,050 meters at Cruz Loma, and that’s already high enough to notice thinner air on the walk between viewpoints. Beyond the top station, the trail up Rucu Pichincha continues to roughly 4,700 meters, a genuinely serious high-altitude hike, not a casual extension of the cable car ride. Go slow, turn back if you’re struggling, and don’t attempt this hike on your first or second day in the city.
Cotopaxi National Park. One of the world’s highest active volcanoes at 5,897 meters, about two hours south of Quito. Most visitors don’t summit; the standard day-trip goal is the José Rivas refuge at around 4,800 meters, a 45-60 minute walk from the parking area that’s still demanding at that elevation. Check the park’s current access and eruptive status before you go, conditions have shifted in recent years, and treat any dizziness or nausea on the trail as a reason to stop.
Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve. A gentler option, an inhabited volcanic caldera about 45 minutes northwest of the city where farmers still work the crater floor. The descent trail from the main viewpoint takes roughly 45 minutes and is far less strenuous than Pichincha or Cotopaxi, though the reserve still sits at meaningful altitude, so pace yourself on the way back up.
Quilotoa. The crater lake here is a genuine highlight, a vivid turquoise lagoon ringed by a rim trail, but it’s roughly three hours from Quito each way, and the honest way to do it is as an overnight rather than a rushed same-day drive. Trying to squeeze the drive and the hike into a single day leaves almost no time at the rim itself.
Read more: for the true day trips versus the ones that need a night away, see our day trips guide, and for more of the region’s landscapes, nature beyond the city .