Bumping along the spectacular dirt roads of the Quilotoa loop and hiking between the area’s Andean villages is one of Ecuador’s most exhilarating adventures. Transportation is tricky but the rewards are abundant: highland markets, the breathtaking crater lake of Laguna Quilotoa, splendid hikes and traditional highland villages. One of the best parts of the loop is the fact that you’ll have many chances, especially in Quilotoa, to interact with indigenous folks. They can seem somewhat withdrawn at first, but are friendly and talkative once the ice is broken, especially if you speak some Spanish or – even better – Quichua.

Saquisilí is a small town located south of Quito, at Cotopaxi province In it's 8 squares there's a fair each thursday where you can get diverse products such fresh food, handcrafts or llivestock. This is a traditionl meeting point for indian comunities of the region, and a good spot for travelers that want to understand the cotidianity of this region.

At 5897 meters above sea level, and rising majestically above the Andean mountains, the Cotopaxi mountain is Ecuador’s highest active volcano. With an almost perfectly symmetrical cone shape its identifiable sign, Cotopaxi mountain is also a picture book image of Ecuador. Looking down from a plane at a volcano is one thing, but climbing it, camping on its flanks, riding a horse or mountain bike across the paramo, or hiking around it are much more rewarding. The high Andean paramo here features wild horses and llamas grazing. Below the volcano, the flat plains are peppered with volcanic boulders that give stark evidence of the power and fury of Cotopaxi's relatively recent eruptions.

The Illinizas Ecological Reserve it is located 55 km south of Quito. Its main attraction are the Illinizas which are two snow caped volcanoes: South Illiniza 5 248 meters and North Illiniza 5 126 meters. The Illinizas Ecological Reserve has 30 800 hectares of paramo (moorland) and 119 100 hectares of cloud and subtropical forest.

Each June, thousands of Ecuadorians congregate in Pujili for the Corpus Christi festival which features the El Danzante parade. This fiesta is a fascinating mix of Christian (celebration of Holy Communion) and traditional (celebration of the harvest and to Inti, the Inca sun god)religious practices. This multi-day fiesta is an exhibition for the region's dance, folkloric dance, music, cuisine, and art.

I am Edgar Vaca, I climb since I'm 18. Since 1990 I am a professional climbing guide member of ASEGUIM (ECUADORIAN ASOCIATION OF CLIMBING GUIDES). Now I'm 46 and I have climbed all the mountains in Ecuador more than 50 times.

House walls are painted for famous local naive painters from Cotopaxi Humberto Latacunga, Orlando y Klever Quindigalle

In the future we will offer workshops of this painting techniques at our ocation.