Even though hiking the Quilotoa Loop has become one of Ecuador’s best highlights, you could say that its still a relatively cheap activity that would fit the average backpacker budget. This is a short summary of what we spent during our 5 days / 4 nights hiking in the area.
Riding in the back of a pickup with Clo & Matt from weareoutoftheoffice
Transport (7$ – 3.6%)
Whether you’re planning to start the loop in Quilotoa or Sigchos, transport options from Latacunga to/from either of the two is pretty cheap. Local buses run pretty frequently back and forth from Sigchos at just 2.15$/pp, Quilotoa at just 2.50$/pp or Zumbahua at 2$/pp.
Views from Hostal Taita Cristobal
Accomodation (140$ – 72.1%)
Sleeping is definitely the mot expensive part of the whole hike. Normally, you should expect to pay between 15-20$ per person/per night whether you’ll be sleeping in a dorm or double room. Hostels in bigger towns e.g. Sigchos & Zumbahua can be cheaper (10-15$) but in the other small villages there won’t be much of a choice. The good thing is that hostels on the loop usually have breakfast & dinner included in the nightly rate!
Local Shop on the hike
Food (20.5$ – 10.5%)
Since the hostels will provide most of the meals during any day of hiking, you’ll only have to buy enough snacks and quick bites to keep your belly full while on the road. In Latacunga, at the supermarket just in front of the terminal we bought 8$ worth of snacks (e.g. fruit, dry fruit, peanuts, chips and water) that lasted until the bus ride back at the end of the hike. Should you fancy to go out for lunch in Quilotoa, expect to spend at least 4$ for a main dish.
Alcohol (22$ – 11.3%)
One of the big money variables of hiking the loop depends how many “treats” you wanna give yourself at the end of each day. Every evening at the hostel, we did gift ourselves a nice cold beer or a glass of wine while enjoy the warm stove and by all means we would do it again! Expect to pay around 2-3$/per beer and 4-5$/per glass of wine.
Extra (5$ – 2.5%)
Along the way, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to buy some handicrafts (from textiles to food delicacies) produced from the locals on-site. At one of the hostels, we decided to get Marta a hand-knitted alpaca hat for just a couple of dollars: definitely worth it!
Average per Day
Over the length of 4 full days of hiking we managed to stay at 48.6$ – 41.2€ per day which is definitely not a cheap budget but still good if you consider the amazing landscapes we had the possibility to enjoy every day. On top of that, consider that you could easily save up 5$/day by sticking to water and avoiding treats all the way along.
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