Day 1

Your biking adventure begins as we drive south to the park along the Pan-American Highway. Within two hours, we reach the head trail (4,600 meters) at the base of Cotopaxi Volcano. After donning our biking gear and catching our breath in the brisk high-altitude air, we begin our downward descent. Get ready for high-speed adventure and hang on tight, as the dirt road will take you on a wild ride. The road will whisk you past silvery-smooth Limpiopungo Lake and through pine-forested lands until you reach the park’s guard station, where you can see a corralled llama herd. Our 4-wheel-drive vehicles will drive you to some Inca ruins (tolas), where a box lunch will be served. After lunch we drive southwest into the Western Cordillera to Zumbahua to see the desolate Andean terrain with an occasional shepherd in the distance. We overnight with the Indians of this area, sharing their grass huts, their music and a typical party.