Add dates

Toachi River Canyon

Toachi River Canyon: Our most recommended tours and activities

Quilotoa Lagoon: Full-Day Tour from Quito

1. Quilotoa Lagoon: Full-Day Tour from Quito

Drive south from Quito to the Quilotoa area and visit its famous lagoon. Along the way, you'll admire the beautiful Andean landscape and stop at the Shalala viewpoint. Next, you'll visit the community viewpoint and descend to the lagoon. Once there, you'll have free time to hike and explore the area. You'll return on a path that connects the lagoon to the community viewpoint. It's an intense walk, so if you're not in good shape, simply climb on a mule that will pack you back to the viewpoint. After a lunch break, you'll also stop at a Tigua craft workshop, famous for its colorful products, and visit the Toachi's Canon.

From Quito: Quilotoa Lake Private Tour with Transfer & Lunch

2. From Quito: Quilotoa Lake Private Tour with Transfer & Lunch

This amazing and comfortable cultural private day trip starts at 8:00 a.m., from your hotel in Quito, driving through the "Avenue of the Volcanoes", and with a visit to the local indian Saquisili Market (Thursday)! The drive to Quilotoa Lake displays stunning views of the Andean mountains, passing the ancient canyon of the Toachi River, many indigenous communities and farmlands. Before lunch, in the location known as “Huayra Pungo”, we will visit a local indigenous hut, where you will have the opportunity to interact with the inhabitants of the hut and perhaps, to learn few Kichwa words, which is the native language of this region! After this especial life experience, sharing some minutes with local people, you'll have lunch at a local charming restaurant! Then we have the opportunity to visit the local and unique market of Zumbahua (Saturday), where we are able to see the ancestral trading system of exchanging goods without any currency, called trueque! The tour includes a steep hike down into Quilotoa Crater, where is a sparkling-emerald-lake inside the extinct volcano, located at 3.600 meters above sea level (11,811 ft). The way back to the top, where the parking area is located, takes about one hour, or there is an option of renting a mule or a horse, with a comfortable settle, for your way back!! It is going to be very helpful and comfortable being on a private tour, due to the high altitude, so you'll be assisted by your tour guide every moment, and especially you'll take your time in every activity to make this day trip the best lifetime experience! You will be back in Quito approximately at 5:00 p.m., after having enjoyed this exclusive and unforgettable tour!

Available activities

2 activities found
Sort by:

Top sights near Toachi River Canyon

Other Sightseeing Options in Toachi River Canyon

Want to discover all there is to do in Toachi River Canyon? Click here for a full list.

What people are saying about Toachi River Canyon

Overall rating

4.9 / 5

based on 21 reviews

A group tour (4 other parties joined us on a Thursday), the tour picked us up from our airbnb, and we made a couple of special stops along the way to Quilotoa (bathroom and breakfast break, fruit stands to purchase fruit for our lunch), and the views to Quilotoa were amazing. Quilotoa itself was gorgeous, but my party didn't venture down to the bottom because of concerns of elevation sickness, so we chose the hike around the rim (still a strenuous but rewarding experience, my dad slid and fell a couple of times, no major injuries other than his pride). The varieties of flowers and animals around made for excellent pictures. We ended the tour with a nice meal at a local hostel and then a quiet ride back. Carlos (our guide) and Hector (our driver, but also a guide for us while we hiked the rim) were fantastic, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Much recommended!

Awesome tour and Diana was a great guide. Beautiful views of the lake and we even enjoyed a quick boat ride around the lake. A great experience for my first time visiting Quito. The hike was challenging for me bc I’m a beginner but it was definitely worth it. You can rent donkeys to take you back up to the top.

Fantastic trip! Knowledgeable and friendly guides. Loved the stops along the way there- getting to learn more about the culture. This was one of the best parts of my Ecuador trip!

Polite and helpful guide and driver, they arrived punctually at the agreed time, everything right and very pleasant.

So fun! Well informed hosts and super hospitable :)