Ecuador · 3 days · Easy to moderate
3-Day Haciendas of the Andes: Otavalo and Cotopaxi
The two historic haciendas of the northern and central Andes, with the Otavalo market between them and Cotopaxi at the end. Hacienda Pinsaquí has stood outside Otavalo since 1790; Hacienda La Ciénega, at the foot of Cotopaxi, dates from the seventeenth century and put up Humboldt while he studied the volcano in 1802. You sleep in both, with a private car and an English-speaking guide for the three days.
Short answer
3-Day Haciendas of the Andes: Otavalo and Cotopaxi is a 3-day, 2-night Ecuador itinerary starting in Quito (hotel pick-up, 8:00) and finishing in Quito (back to your hotel, early evening), for private: your party only, with your own guide and driver. It starts from US$892 per person sharing a double room in our standard hotel category, in low season. International flights are not included. Every day of it is published below, and we rebuild it around your dates at no extra cost.
Highlights
- Otavalo, the largest indigenous market in South America — we schedule day one on a Saturday whenever your dates allow
- A night at Hacienda Pinsaquí, a working house since 1790, in a standard double with breakfast
- A night and dinner at Hacienda La Ciénega, in its eucalyptus avenue under Cotopaxi
- Cotopaxi National Park on the last morning: Limpiopungo lagoon at 3,800 m, and the walk to the refuge at 4,864 m for those who want it
- Your own guide and vehicle throughout — nothing is shared, and the order of the days is built around the altitude
How this trip moves
2 nights, 2 places to unpack
The thing most itineraries hide is how much of your holiday is spent getting somewhere. Here it is up front.
Where you sleep
- Hacienda Pinsaquí, standard double 1 night
- Hacienda La Ciénega, double 1 night
The shape of it
- 1 The day you get there
- You sleep here
- Road
Day by day
- Day 1
Quito to Otavalo, and the market
Private pick-up at your Quito hotel at 8:00 and two hours north through the Guayllabamba valley, with a stop at the equator-line marker if you want it. Otavalo by mid-morning: the artisan market on Plaza de Ponchos runs every day, but on a Saturday it takes over the town, and we plan around that. Lunch in town or at the hacienda (not included). Afternoon at Hacienda Pinsaquí, outside Otavalo on the old road to Colombia, with its gardens and the volcano Imbabura behind it.
- Change of base
- Road
- Meals
- None included (breakfast is on day 2)
- You sleep at
- Hacienda Pinsaquí, standard double
- Day 2
Cuicocha, then south to Cotopaxi
Breakfast at Pinsaquí. A morning at Cuicocha, the crater lake on the flank of Cotacachi at 3,100 m — a walk along the rim, or the boat around the two islands if the water is calm. Then the long drive south past Quito along the Avenue of the Volcanoes, about four hours with stops. Hacienda La Ciénega by late afternoon: a seventeenth-century house on a eucalyptus avenue at the foot of Cotopaxi. Dinner at the hacienda is included.
- Change of base
- Road
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
- You sleep at
- Hacienda La Ciénega, double
- Day 3
Cotopaxi National Park, and back to Quito
Into the park after breakfast, which is twenty minutes from the hacienda. Limpiopungo lagoon at 3,800 m, the páramo and its wild horses, and — for those who want it — the drive to the car park and the walk up the sand slope to the José Ribas refuge at 4,864 m. It is under a kilometre and takes most people 45 minutes to an hour because of the altitude; nobody has to do it. Lunch on the way (not included) and back to your Quito hotel by early evening.
- Change of base
- Road
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- — last day, back at your hotel
What is included
- Private vehicle with driver for the three days — SUV for up to three, minivan for four or five
- Licensed English-speaking guide for the three days
- One night at Hacienda Pinsaquí (Otavalo), standard double, with breakfast
- One night at Hacienda La Ciénega (Cotopaxi), double, with breakfast and dinner
- All transfers from and to your Quito hotel
- Guide and driver expenses on the road, so there is nothing to settle at the haciendas
What is not included
- Lunches, and dinner on day one (the hacienda menu is about US$36 per person)
- The Cuicocha boat and any site entrance fees where charged — Cotopaxi National Park currently charges none
- Travel insurance
- Tips
Per person in double occupancy. Final price depends on your dates, party size and hotel category — high season and single occupancy carry supplements. Full breakdown →
When to do this trip
Year-round. June to September is the driest in the northern and central Andes and the best odds of a clear Cotopaxi; afternoons cloud over in any month, which is why the park is on the morning of day three. Build the dates around a Saturday in Otavalo.
Good to know before you book
- Group size
- Private: your party only, with your own guide and driver
- Starts
- Quito (hotel pick-up, 8:00)
- Ends
- Quito (back to your hotel, early evening)
- Pace
- Easy to moderate
- Passport
- Valid at least six months beyond your arrival date. Entry requirements →
- Insurance
- Not included and not optional in our view. Medical evacuation from the islands or the rainforest is expensive.
- What moves the price
- Hotel category, private versus shared guiding, your dates, and party size — a solo traveller pays the room, not half of it. Tell us your party and dates and we will price it properly.
- If we have to change something
- Weather, park regulations and flight schedules occasionally force a swap. We tell you before you travel, not on the day, and we replace like with like.
Who this trip is not for
We would rather lose the booking than sell you the wrong week. These are the reasons people come back from this itinerary disappointed, and all of them are predictable before you pay.
Anyone who landed in Quito yesterday
Day three stands at 3,800 m and, for those who climb to the refuge, at 4,864 m. Quito is 2,850 m. Give yourself at least two nights in the city first — we will tell you the same thing when you ask for dates.
Anyone who needs five-star polish
These are houses from 1790 and the 1600s, with thick walls, fireplaces, creaking floors and gardens, run as hotels. That is why people come. If what you want is a spa and a pool, Quito has those and these do not.
Anyone who cannot be in Otavalo on a Saturday
The market runs daily and is good every day. It is only on Saturday that it is the thing people cross the world for. If your dates cannot include a Saturday, we say so before you book.
If any of those describe you, tell us — there is almost always a version that fits, and it is usually not more expensive.
Questions about this itinerary
How long is the 3-Day Haciendas of the Andes: Otavalo and Cotopaxi?
3 days and 2 nights, starting in Quito (hotel pick-up, 8:00) and ending in Quito (back to your hotel, early evening).
How difficult is it?
Easy to moderate. Group size: Private: your party only, with your own guide and driver.
When is the best time to do this trip?
Year-round. June to September is the driest in the northern and central Andes and the best odds of a clear Cotopaxi; afternoons cloud over in any month, which is why the park is on the morning of day three. Build the dates around a Saturday in Otavalo.
What extra costs should I budget for?
Per person in double occupancy. Final price depends on your dates, party size and hotel category — high season and single occupancy carry supplements.
Photographs
These islands, photographed by us
Not a picture library. These are ours, taken on the islands this itinerary visits — each one says where and when.
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The eucalyptus avenue that leads to the house Hacienda La Ciénega, Cotopaxi — photograph by the hacienda -
Breakfast laid on the terrace, with the avenue beyond Hacienda La Ciénega, Cotopaxi — photograph by the hacienda -
The chapel, lit for the evening Hacienda La Ciénega, Cotopaxi — photograph by the hacienda
If this one is not quite it
