Pasochoa Hike

Pasochoa is an extinct volcano in the Ecuadorean Andes not too far from Cotopaxi. In the picture below, our hostel is located in the green plain and in the back lies Pasochoa. The trail goes around the large hill in the middle of the photo on the right side. The hike is about 8.5 miles round trip with about 2,400 ft elevation gain.

The hike started directly behind the hostel, going through some dense brush and along some ancient Incan irrigation ditches.

We hiked above the valley with the waterfall that we'd hiked to the day before. Here we see a different waterfall further up the valley.

There was an interesting water crossing.

Soon, we were hiking up the volcano towards the crater rim.

There were interesting features to admire as we continued to climb.

A steep climb, with some slippery muddy patches.

At the edge of the crater was a steep drop off, completely shrouded in clouds. On the other side lies Quito far below.

 The top of Pasochoa is at 13,850 ft above sea level.
Even with the clouds coming and going, the major volcanos all stayed hidden from view. We enjoyed the views we had.