Exploring the town of Otavalo and its surroundings

Otavalo is a fairly small town north of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. It is famous for its artisan market and is also a good place to stay if you are planning to go to Laguna Cuicocha. So after having spent a few days in Quito I decided to head on to Otavalo.

Otavalo

How to get there

You need to take a bus from the terminal Carcelén in the north of Quito. There are more companies to choose from. I paid 2.70 dollars for a ticket to get there and 3 dollars going back. Otavalo is about 80 km away from Quito and the trip takes about an hour an a half. You can be dropped off on the main road passing by the town or the bus terminal. If you are dropped off on the road it’s a 15 or 20 minute walk to the centre.

What to see there

The town is famous for its artisan market (at Plaza de Ponchos). A lot of vendors come to Otavalo every Saturday to sell they products, especially handicrafts. There are so many stalls and products that you can shop till you drop. It’s possible to go to the market on other days with fewer stalls and vendors.

Another nice attraction is the Peguche waterfall. It’s some 3 to 3.5 kilometres away from the centre and it’s a nice place to go to. It’s 18 m high and the hike from the road is a short one and it’s nice, too. Unlike all other people I didn’t hike back but I combined it with another hike to the Lechero viewpoint.

I went up the steep hill next to the waterfall only to discover how beautiful the scenery was upstream. The stream flows through a small gorge before becoming a waterfall. A bit further up it meanders nicely among very tall trees. It was really beautiful.

While hiking to the viewpoint I passed small villages and saw a lot of fields. The less pleasant side of the hike were the dogs. Stray and sheep dogs always give me creeps. There was this one dog (one of quite a few) which wouldn’t let me go on. I spent a couple of minutes talking to it but it just wouldn’t budge. Eventually a local scared it away. Maybe the problem was I was speaking Slovak not Spanish.

The Lechero viewpoint is actually a sacres site, where there is supposedly a 1000 old tree marking a site of an old cemetery where babies having no names or not having been baptised were buried. The places offers a view of San Pablo Lake and on a clear day you can see some of the highest mountains in the area such as Cotacachi (4944 m asl) or Imbabura (4557 m asl).

LAGUNA CUICOCHA

Lake Cuichocha is a stunning lake located about 17 km from Otavalo. And it is definitely a must see place in Ecuador.

How to get there

You can take a taxi all the way from Otavalo. A cheaper option is to take a bus going to Cotachachi via Quiroga. You can get off in Quiroga and then take a taxi. I dislike taking taxis but I knew the weather could change for the worse soon and so I took a taxi. Also, I was going to hike around the lake so I wanted to save my energy.

The bus ticket to Quiroga cost 35 cents. The taxi ride normally costs 5 dollars. I agreed to pay 4. Going down I got a ride just for 2 dollars.

I also read about a bus going to Itag passsing by the lake but I didnt try this option.

What to do there

You can hike around the lake. The trail is 14 km long and it takes 3 to 5 hours depending on how fit you are, how fast you hike and how much time you spend enjoying the views and taking photos.

I made in 3.5 hours with plenty of time to take in the beauty of the scenery. Because it is beautiful. Stunning, I should say. The hike is not very easy considering you hike at an altitude of more than 3000 metres. But it’s certainly doable.