LAGUNA QUILOTOA

Bright turquoise water, caused by dissolved minerals, makes this deep crater lake a startling mirage amid the breezy surrounding hills. Now part of the Iliniza Ecological Reserve, the reserve charges a $1 pp entrance fee. Accommodations can be found along the turnoff from the main road, where a few Tigua artists run humble shelters with fireplaces, wool blankets, and not much else. Humberto Latacunga’s Cabanas Quilotoa (tel. 3/2814-625) has rooms with fireplaces for $8 pp. It includes a small tienda (shop) and a dirt-floored restaurant, where Humberto’s beautiful paintings and carved wooden masks are for sale. Next door is the bare-bones Hostal Quilotoa ($3 pp).

  The precipitous hike around the rim takes 4–5 hours, and the steep plunge down to the lake itself can be done in a three-hour round-trip. Horses are available for rent at the rim for the ascent. (The water is said to contain too many minerals to be purifiable.) A walk of five hours takes you back to Chugchilán. You can buy sodas and snacks at a small tienda in the village of Guayama. The route descends into the precipitous Río Toachi gorge, then makes the final uphill push to Chugchilán. Maps are available at the Black Sheep Inn in Chugchilán and at the Cabanas Quilotoa. Buses run from Chugchilán to the laguna in the early morning, passing as high as 3,914 meters along the way.