Imbabura
Cuicocha and Peguche day trip from Quito
A Cuicocha and Peguche day trip from Quito is the northern valley without making the market the whole point. One listing is the lake. One is the waterfall. A third takes two days to do both. The price is on the partner’s page.
Photograph by Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Listings
Ways to book
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GetYourGuide
Market and Cuicocha
The crater on the way back from the Saturday square.
A day from Quito through the Otavalo market, with Cuicocha on the return and an optional stop in Cotacachi. The listing describes the lake as a crater of Cotacachi volcano. Open it for the day’s length.
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GetYourGuide
Peguche waterfall
The forest and the fall, with the market as a stop rather than the subject.
Pickup in Quito, the Cayambe bizcocho stop, the Miralago viewpoint, the Otavalo market, Peguche waterfall, and Ñanda Mañachi. The listing gives the waterfall walk about an hour.
Photograph by Arabsalam, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Both, with a night
When the lake and the waterfall will not fit before dark.
Day one is the market and a night at Hacienda Pinsaqui. Day two is Peguche, a boat on Cuicocha, and Cotacachi, then Quito. The listing puts Cuicocha at 3,068 m and the fall at 18 m, inside the Peguche protected forest.
Photograph by David Adam Kess, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Buttons above are paid partner links. How that works.
On the ground
Trip tips
- Quito
- E35 north
- Otavalo
- Peguche
- Cuicocha
The highway runs north through the Cayambe valley. Peguche is just north of Otavalo, in a protected forest. Cuicocha is west, in the crater of Cotacachi, with Imbabura across the view from the other side of the valley.
When
Saturday if the market matters. The waterfall and the lake do not require it. Leave time to be back in Quito before dark if you are not taking the overnight listing.
Weather
Highland sun and a cold wind on the crater rim. The forest at Peguche is wetter than the square. A light jacket covers both. The rim walk is the exposed part.
Stops
Peguche waterfall, the Cuicocha rim or the boat the two-day listing includes, and Cotacachi if the day names the leather town. Ask before you photograph people. The market’s bargaining belongs with crafts, not with the lake.
Altitude and what to bring
Cuicocha at 3,068 m on the two-day listing. Otavalo town is lower, near 2,532 m on that same page. You are still in the highlands. Water, and a slower first hour if Quito has not felt easy yet.
Sources: Wikipedia, Cuicocha · GetYourGuide, Peguche day · GetYourGuide, two days with Cuicocha . Rewritten here. Fees, hours, and roads change.
Before you go
Good to know
- Cuicocha is a crater lake about 3 km wide, at the foot of Cotacachi. The two-day listing puts it at 3,068 m.
- Peguche is a short way north of Otavalo. One day listing gives the walk about an hour. The fall on the two-day listing is 18 m.
- Saturday is the full market. The Otavalo day-trip page is the longer note on that square. This page is the lake and the waterfall.
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.
Also on this site: Hiking the Avenue of the Volcanoes · Otavalo market day trips · Quito .
Questions
Before you click
Can you see Cuicocha and Peguche in one day from Quito?
The single-day listings here split them. One is the market and Cuicocha. One is Peguche, in 8 hours, with the market as a stop. The listing that does the waterfall and a boat on Cuicocha takes two days and a night.
How high is Cuicocha?
The two-day listing says 3,068 m. Otavalo town, on the Otavalo page, is near 2,532 m. The lake is higher than the town, and a little higher than Quito. It is windy on the rim. It is not Cotopaxi.
How far is the valley from Quito?
Otavalo is about 95 km north on the E35. The Otavalo page’s published drives run from 1.5–2 hours to about 2–2.5 hours. Peguche is a short hop north of town. Cuicocha is west, toward Cotacachi.
Is this the same as an Otavalo market tour?
The market appears on all three listings, because it is on the way. The point of this page is the crater and the waterfall. If Saturday’s square is the reason for the trip, use the Otavalo day-trip page.