The colossus
Chimborazo day trip from Quito or Riobamba
A Chimborazo day trip from Quito or Riobamba is a drive into the reserve, not a summit. The mountain is 6,263 m. These are listings we could open. The price is on the partner’s page.
Photograph by Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Listings
Ways to book
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GetYourGuide
Private hike from Riobamba
A day that starts in Riobamba and walks toward the second refuge.
Pickup from a Riobamba hotel or the bus terminal, a local guide, and a traditional Andean lunch. The listing drives to about 4,800 m and describes a hike of about an hour toward 5,000–5,100 m. A drop in Baños is extra.
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Viator
Hike and a downhill bike
A long day whose Viator title starts in Quito.
The page is titled as a hike and downhill bike from Quito, all inclusive, with a start the listing puts in the early morning. Open it for what the bike day actually covers. It is a different shape from a refuge walk.
Photograph by Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Viator
From Baños, via Riobamba
You are already in the gorge and want the volcano on the way.
A small-group day from Baños via Riobamba, in a four-wheel-drive, with a guide. The listing caps the group at 15 and mentions vicuñas on the reserve. Pickup is arranged in Baños.
Photograph by Albert Backer, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Buttons above are paid partner links. How that works.
On the ground
Trip tips
- Quito or Baños
- Riobamba
- The reserve
- High parking
- A short walk
Riobamba is the practical base. The private listing times the drive from there at about 1 hour 30 minutes, with a canyon stop on the way. From Quito the day is much longer. From Baños the 6–8 hour listing goes via Riobamba.
When
A clear morning, and not your first day at altitude. The bike listing’s start is early. The refuge walk is still a full day out of Riobamba.
Weather
Wind and cloud on the páramo. The summit disappears. Turn around when the guide says the weather has changed. A sunny parking lot is not a promise an hour higher.
Stops
The high parking, the walk toward the second refuge on the Riobamba listing, and the vicuñas on the reserve road. The Carrel refuge is the hut in that landscape. It is not a café you should count on.
Altitude and what to bring
Summit 6,263 m. The listing’s car reaches about 4,800 m, which is already above Cotopaxi’s Limpiopungo and close to the José Rivas refuge. Water, sun protection, a warm layer, and the honesty to go down.
Sources: Wikipedia, Chimborazo · GetYourGuide, Riobamba hike · Viator, day from Baños . Rewritten here. Fees, hours, and roads change.
Before you go
Good to know
- The summit is a glaciated climb. These listings are refuge and reserve days. Ice wants an accredited guide, which the hiking chapter names as ASEGUIM.
- The Riobamba hike lists a drive of about 1 hour 30 minutes from the city to the volcano, then a car to about 4,800 m.
- Vicuñas live on the reserve. They are not a petting zoo. Stay on the trail the guide uses.
Landing at Mariscal Sucre and would rather not start in a city taxi? UIO Transfers is a private car from the airport. It is the owner’s company, not a third-party ad.
Hiking the Avenue of the Volcanoes
Also on this site: Cotopaxi · Baños · Quito altitude .
Questions
Before you click
Can Chimborazo be a day trip from Quito?
One Viator listing is titled as a day from Quito and runs about 12 hours 30 minutes, with a hike and a downhill bike. The 9-hour private hike starts in Riobamba. The 6–8 hour day starts in Baños. Quito to the refuge and back is the long version.
How high do these days go?
The Riobamba listing drives to about 4,800 m and walks toward 5,000–5,100 m. The summit is 6,263 m. That last stretch is a different trip, on ice.
Is Chimborazo the highest mountain on earth?
It is the farthest point on the earth’s surface from the planet’s center, because the earth bulges at the equator. It is not the highest above sea level. The height above the sea is 6,263 m.
When should you not go?
Not the morning you land in Quito. The altitude chapter is the reason. A headache, nausea, or dizziness is a reason to descend, not to continue toward the refuge.