Country Article / Postcards

Base Camp, Cotopaxi

Date: 03/21/2007

Ninety minutes south of Quito, near the tiny town of Lasso, you'll find Hacienda La Ciénaga. Dating to the late 1600s, the sweeping entrance to La Ciénaga is lined with massive eucalyptus trees, reminiscent of the boulevard leading to the Tara estate in “Gone With the Wind.” Said to originally be the home of a knight and his 13-year-old wife, the hacienda is located a few miles from Mt. Cotopaxi, which, at almost 20,000 feet, is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world.

Thanks to its location, La Ciénaga has historically had a distinguished guest list--most notably the Geodesic Mission (1736-44) that determined the true shape of the earth; and Alexander Von Humboldt (1802), a German naturalist who studied Cotopaxi’s volcanic activity and unique alpine flora. You don’t have to be a scientist or a mountain-climber to enjoy an expedition to Cotopaxi, and La Ciénaga is the perfect base from which to do so.

The hacienda’s faded elegance is enhanced by its manicured gardens and beautiful chapel with ornately carved doors. The six-foot-thick volcanic stone walls keep rooms cool--each equipped with a heater or fireplace to keep you warm at night. The large restaurant caters to tour groups at lunch, but at breakfast and dinner you may have it to yourself. Sometimes an Andean band plays at dinner. La Ciénaga offers horseback riding and trout fishing and can arrange two- to seven-day tours of the area. Double rooms are $70 per night including taxes and breakfast. For more details, click here.

If you do not have a car, you can arrange transportation or a tour of Cotopaxi through the hacienda. Otherwise, drive four miles north on the Pan-American to the turn off for the main entrance of Cotopaxi National Park. Half an hour beyond the park entrance you reach a small museum, then the lake of Limpio Pungo. Continue on to explore the arid páramo, a mountain grassland of spectacularly austere scenery. The farthest you can reach by car is a parking lot at 15,000 feet.

Amy Robertson
For International Living

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P.S. To get to the Hacienda La Ciénaga, you head south along the Panamerican Highway from Quito. It's two kilometers (3.2 miles) south of the tiny town of Lasso, and there is a sign on the highway, so it's easy to find. By public transport, take a bus headed to Latacunga, and hop off when you see the sign for La Cienaga. The bus should be about $1.75, and there is frequent service from the "terminal terrestre" in Quito.

P.P.S. At the base of Cotopaxi is one of Ecuador’s hidden jewels--the Hacienda San Augustín de Callo. Originally built as an Incan temple circa 1440, then converted to an Augustine Monastery in 1590, the hacienda was bought in 1921 by General Leonidas Plaza Gutierrez, leader of the Liberal Revolution, and later President of Ecuador. This rustic hacienda has remained in the family and is currently owned by the General’s granddaughter. Room rates range from $214 to $317 per night for foreigners. Rates include breakfast, lunch or picnic, dinner, bicycles, fishing, treks, two hours of horseback riding, and a visit to a rose plantation.