Quilotoa Tour Full Day With Lunch

Recommended by 92% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Quito, Ecuador

12 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Escape the hustle and bustle of Quito and spend a day immersed in Ecuador's natural landscapes on this full-day tour to Quilotoa Lake. Join a small group and head to the turquoise waters of the volcanic crater. Hike down to the waters, where you have free time to explore the area. End your day with a visit to an artisan workshop in Tigua and the Toachi River Canyon.

Learn about the history and legends of Quilotoa
Enjoy a chance to purchase a typical Ecuadorian lunch
Hike back up the steep slopes or ride up by mule
A small group means more attention from your guide

What's Included

Tourist Transport
Bilingual Guide (Spanish – English)
All Entrances
Lunch

Details not specified
Tips

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

we will contact you to confirm your pick up place one day before the tour.

Operating hours
.7:00 am

Itinerary

Pujili

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Tigua

25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Laguna Quilotoa

6 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infants must sit on laps
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Darrin_B

Our guide Daniel was personable, professional and knowledgeable! The bus ride was comfortable - and the scenery was breathtaking! We viewed the amazing Quilatoa Lake from many view points - including trekking up and down the trail to its edge. And topped it off with a well-earned and delicious Ecuadorian lunch!

Reviews

4.7

based on 26 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Could have been better

maureen_F, Mar 2026

This was a very full day trip with a long drive. Our guide Carlos seemed to be on a mission to get it completed as soon as possible. On the bus there was no stopping to take photos of the views. The 2 places we did stop, an indigenous home and an art gallery where not that interesting and Carlos made no attempt to explain these stops. At Quilotoa lake he left the group well behind on the way down. He did however remain with the back walkers on the way up. After the lunch it was then a speedy drive back into Quito.

Beautiful! Great guides

Andrew_S, Dec 2022

Beautiful destination. Really friendly and knowledgeable guides who seemed to take a lot of care of anyone falling behind. Bus is a little rough if you have motion sickness at all. Prepare for that if it’s a risk.

Beautiful but not as colorful as the pictures

Chelsey_H, Aug 2022

Our group had just 4 people plus our guide, who was very friendly and encouraging and spoke great English. We had a nice van with big windows to see the beautiful scenery (and numerous cute dogs) as we drove. However, I'd recommend adding a couple stops along the route so we could get pictures of the mountains on the way to or from Quilotoa (we did take a stop at a canyon and at a place where you could see Cotopaxi in the distance). On the way, we stopped at a place where you could get breakfast or snacks, but it was very expensive. When we arrived at Quilotoa, we hiked down to the crater and had time to kayak ($3 per person) and get pictures (Note: There were large lockers for rent for $1 to keep things you wanted to make sure stayed dry). Then we hiked up. It ended up being a slow hike as one group member had altitude sickness, but we didn't have to stay together during the hike. Along the hike there was an opportunity to take a picture with an alpaca for $1. Then we had just enough time for lunch (no time to look around the town or visit the shops). The included lunch has your choice between 2 soups, your choice between beef and chicken with rice, and a small dessert, which you eat together with your group. The food was good, but not as tasty as other places in Ecuador. After this, we continued directly back and were dropped off at our hostel. It was a good tour with nice views, but the crater was not as brightly colored as in pictures. However, the scenery on the way probably made up for this. Tip: Bring lots of layers, as we needed warm hats, gloves, fleece, etc at the top and just light clothes at the bottom.

Nice for pics

Kharsim_Y, May 2022

Nice escape from the city and Quilotoa is great for pictures. Do note it’s a 3hr’sh drive each way on sometimes windy roads (in case you get car sick) but that’s just the route to get there. Note. It states that lunch is included in the description, but it wants included on our trip, not a big deal just worth mentioning.

Nice day trip from Quito to beautiful volcano crater lake

Shelley_W, May 2022

I got picked up at the designated time from my hotel. Guide was friendly. Scenery was beautiful. I didn’t make the hike to the bottom of the crater to the lake but enjoyed walking around the top and seeing the shops in the little town. Not recommended for people with bad knees.

Best day!

Samantha_S, Apr 2022

We loved this tour and Mauro! The hike was amazing, lunch was delicious, and he was great to talk with.

Quilota is beautiful.

YOEL_G, Feb 2022

The tour I bought on line included an stop at the Shalalá look point but I was informed it was a mistake. I choose this tour among the others because I was interested on see this structure since it has won some worldwide recognition for its design. They supposed to pick me up at 7.15 AM. After 30 minute waiting I called then to see what was going on. They pick me up close to 8.30 AM, almost 1 hour late. The Guide explained to me they had picked up another person by mistake. Unfortunately it was raining in Quilotoa, so the visibility was very poor and the hiking to the crater was very danger due to the rain and the mud. The trail is in a very bad condition in general so it was a very difficult hike. The guide took with part of the group a short cut to the hike up, but I was not part of the lucky ones, he never told me, so I took the long way. Lol It would be good advice for the people in rainy season bring extra clothes to change after the hiking since it is really uncomfortable the drive back with wet clothes. The bus did not have heater either. Lunch need some improvements. Quilotoa is beautiful, the hike is worth it, so this tour is a most do during the time on Quito.

Great tour, amazing guides

Nicholas_B, Feb 2022

This was one of my favorite tours mainly because of the guides. Irene and Carlos were so much fun and had great energy. They bought us roses, had a dance competition, bought a bday cake for someone on the tour who had a bday, and were generally just so fun to be around. The actual tour activities were great too - we stopped on the way to check out a huge canyon, then once we got to the lake we had plenty of time to walk down and even kayak ($3) for a bit before heading up for lunch. There's also a chance for photo ops with alpacas ($1). Before leaving a bunch of us stopped at a store to have t-shirts made which delayed our return a little bit, but all tours in this region of the world are on "South America time."