Quilotoa is the westernmost volcano in Ecuador, pushing closer to the Pacific than any of its neighbors in the volcanic belt running down the Andes. Its last eruption is dated to 1280, a little over seven hundred years ago. The event was catastrophic. Pyroclastic flows and lahars rushed nearly two hundred kilometers to reach the sea, cutting across a landscape that was already inhabited. When the eruption ended and the magma chamber beneath the mountain was empty, the summit had nothing to hold it up. It collapsed inward, creating the visible caldera, three kilometers wide, that defines the place today. The lake inside is deep enough to hide an entire village. The only signs of active volcanism now are subtle: fumaroles rising from the lake floor, the sulfur tang you catch on the shore, and hot springs bubbling on the eastern side.

The crater rim sits at about 3,900 meters elevation, high enough that breathing turns into work. The small village of Quilotoa lies just southwest of the lake, maintained and run largely by the local indigenous community. Basic accommodations, the kind where you sleep with wool blankets because the nights are cold, are available in the village. Zumbahua, 14 kilometers south, is the next nearest town of any size. Both sit inside the Reserva Ecologica Los Illinizas, the protected area that surrounds Quilotoa. The government has invested in infrastructure because the volcano draws tourists, but the scale remains modest. Everything in the village is a five-minute walk. The main show is the crater.

The hike from the rim to the lake takes about 45 minutes going down. The return takes closer to 90 minutes, often longer. The trail is steep and unpaved, the altitude saps strength quickly, and by the time you are halfway back you will understand why horses and mules wait at the lake for hikers who have overestimated themselves. Ten dollars gets you a ride back up. Canoes can be rented on the lake for two dollars an hour. Swimming is permitted, though the water has a faint sulfur smell and is very cold. The truly ambitious attempt the full rim hike, roughly 9.5 kilometers around the crater, four hours or more of ascents and descents across knife-edge trails. The highest point, Monte Juyende at 3,940 meters, offers views of Cotopaxi on clear days. Parts of the path skirt vertical cliffs, so local advice strongly recommends a guide.

At this elevation the vegetation is tough and sparse. The dominant plant is the chuquiragua, a woody shrub with bright orange flowers adapted to harsh sun and cold. Hummingbirds feed on its nectar and dart between the cliff faces. You may also see eared doves and falcons playing on the updrafts along the crater walls. The lobo del paramo, the mountain wolf, technically lives in this region, but sightings are rare. More likely you will see rabbits, the kind that have evolved to dodge foxes and raptors in an environment with almost no cover. The ecosystem is fragile. Hikers are asked to stay on the trails because any damaged plant takes years to recover at this altitude and on this thin soil.

Quilotoa is the highlight of the Quilotoa Loop, a circular trail network connecting remote villages across the high Andes of Ecuador's Cotopaxi region. From Quilotoa you can walk approximately 12 kilometers in either direction to reach the next settlement, crossing Andean scenery that has changed little in centuries. Buses run from Latacunga in the morning, costing around two dollars and taking an hour and forty-five minutes. One-day tours from Latacunga include stops at Tigua to see local painters before the descent to the lake, and they run about forty dollars including lunch. For those wanting more time, the village has grocery stores (expensive, limited) and a small craft market at the entrance to the laguna walk. Camping is permitted near the lake, though there is no drinking water. At 3,900 meters, with weather that can flip from sun to sleet in ten minutes, the mountain makes the rules.