After hiking the Quilotoa Loop, I headed to Cotopaxi and more specifically the Secret Garden Hostel there, which comes highly recommended on the backpackers’ grapevine.
The hostel has a $95 3day/2night package which I did. Whilst it’s not cheap, I had a really great time there and thought it was money well spent. Disconnecting from the internet and relaxing in nature was wonderful! Here’s what I got up to…
Day One – Arrival and Waterfall hike
I arrived to Secret Garden on their pick up shuttle in time for lunch.
At 2pm we met for the waterfall hike. The walk wasn’t as easy as I was expecting and I was surprised to be walking in wellies. I thought we’d be walking along a path, whereas in fact we were walking along the river and through it at times (why the wellies were needed!).
Both waterfalls are pretty, with the second one being the more impressive of the two.
There were several small sections that chicken me didn’t like. You can climb up the side of the first fall. Feeling chicken and not wanting to slip on the wet rocks, I opted to take the higher path over rather than climb. Half the group climbed it and all made it in one piece pretty quickly. I guess it wasn’t too bad!
The other section I didn’t like was towards the end of the hike to the second fall. We had to edge along a narrow rocky ledge and I felt too exposed like I could slip at any time if I put my foot in the wrong place.
At the second waterfall you can swim. I wore my bikini underneath just in case I surprised myself and went in. I wasn’t persuaded; the water was freezing and I didn’t trust the depth of the water! Only three braved the cold and jumped in!
On the way back, we took a higher trail which had nice views and I was happy not to have to concentrate on where I was stepping.
In total, the walk there and back took around 2hrs. We had plenty of time to enjoy the hammock life, unlimited banana bread and snack time at 5pm (the guacamole and nachos were fab!)
We had burgers and chocolate mousse for dinner which was super tasty!
Day Two – Pasochoa Hike
I did the second hike included in the Secret Garden package, Pasochoa, on my second day.
I started the day watching the sunrise and hoping to see Cotopaxi volcano. Whilst Cotopaxi sadly remained cloaked in heavy cloud, there were still some pretty colours!
The 14km Pasochoa hike was a good one. It took us around 3hrs to reach the top. At 4200m, it’s not the easiest of hikes due to the altitude. That said I was expecting it to be harder than it was. The uphill was mainly gradual. The final half an hour to the top was the steepest part and still totally doable!
Although cloudy and grey, the views from the top were still good. I quickly put on my extra layers up there, the wind was pretty strong and chilly! We didn’t last long and soon started the descent.
We went down the harder way, which aside from one small section wasn’t really harder than the way up. The harder part involved a big rock and narrow path. The narrow path split the rock in two and we had to squeeze through it which wasn’t fun. The mud was slippery underfoot and finding handholds wasn’t easy. After that part, the rest of the descent was straightforward.
We made it back to the hostel in just over an hour and a half, so much faster!
After lunch, I went in the hot tub which was hot hot hot! I couldn’t last long and soon ended up sat on the edge with just my legs in.
Then came hammock and chill time, followed by more banana bread and snack time. Dinner was again yummy, pesto pasta and carrot cake!!
Day Three – Horse Riding and to Quito
I went horse riding on my last morning. We left just after 8am and drove to the Cotopaxi National Park entrance.
The horse ride lasted 3hrs and I really enjoyed it! It was a great way to see the park and it was nice to do something different.
Halfway through we stopped for tea and banana bread. The clouds over Cotopaxi cleared enough so we could just see the base! That’s the most I saw of the volcano! It never cleared completely!
The horses made the ride entertaining. It was like they were having a competition with each other over who went first. They’d be chill until one of them challenged the order and then it was game on to keep their spot!
Tip: Wrap up warm and wear a waterproof. You can have all weathers in a few hours. We mainly got cloud, short spells of sunshine and plenty of wind. We also got wet in several cold rain showers! I felt prepared and comfortable wearing my Uniqlo heat tech long sleeve, fleece, down jacket and waterproof.
Note: There needs to be three people minimum for horse riding to cost $35 each. If there are fewer, then it’s $40.
We were back at the hostel for lunch and left at 3pm for Quito.
Getting to Secret Garden Cotopaxi
Secret Garden Cotopaxi is kind of in the middle of nowhere. With the package deal, a shuttle bus pick up is included at 10am from the Secret Garden hostel in Quito or at 11am (ish!) from a town called Machachi.
If you’re coming from Baños or Latacunga, getting picked up from Machachi makes the most sense. I’d just hiked the Quilotoa Loop, so chose the Machachi pick up.
If you’re not doing the package deal, I’d still book the shuttle. It makes the journey so much easier!
Final thoughts
Secret Garden Cotopaxi was fab! The views, activities, food, atmosphere were all great! It was a really lovely place to relax, enjoy nature and disconnect from technology.
I really liked having the afternoons free to relax, whether in the hot tub, on the outdoor big hammock or by the fire. The fires in the dorms were lit at 7pm and it was so cosy!!
The banana bread was wonderful; I ate far too much – no regrets!!!
I would’ve loved to see Cotopaxi volcano but the cloud never cleared – you can’t have everything! What Cotopaxi looked like will remain a mystery!
If you’re looking for a place to relax and disconnect, spending a few days at Secret Garden Cotopaxi is worth it!!
