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 T6 SANGAY This active volcano, considered by many the most active one in South America ( for more information click to information.volcano.sangay ) is located in a remote area, southeast of Riobamba and is the centerpiece of Ecuador's largest mainland national park of the same name. In the past this mountain trek was once the most demanding adventure hike in the country but recently a new route was opened up, which shortens the distance and allows to take pack animals on the trip. All that now makes this tour more accessible to more people. But it is still and especially if you decide to climb up to the top of the volcano, an unforgettable adventure with some risks involved. Be aware, that people died trying to summit and probably more accidents will happen in the future. Other drawbacks of this trek are unusual bad weather in the region, with rain showers, foggy conditions and cold nights. It can happen that on the whole trip you might not get one glimpse of the volcano but only hear and feel its continuous rumbles and volcanic explosions. T 6 : 6 days / 5 nights Day 1 We leave Quito in the morning and drive south on the Pan-American Highway to Riobamba, where we arrive after 3 and 1/2 hours and stop for lunch. From there on, we continue on a secondary road to Guargualla, a small agricultural community located at 3200m and our starting point of the trek. This stretch of the drive takes another 2 hours time and we spend our first night there. Day 2 On the first day we begin hiking early in the morning because we need 8 to 9 hours to reach our first camp site, which is located in a high plateau called Plaza Pampa. To get there, we have to hike the first 5 hours up the Guargalla valley to reach the pass, called Escaleras at 3900m. Reaching the pass gives us our first views of Sangay, assuming of course rare good weather and which stays then in sight for most of the remaining 4 hours of hike. The hike of our first day is mostly on good mountain trails with some crossing of smaller rivers. Day 3 The next morning we continue our trek towards the foot of the volcano, to our base camp, called Campamento Playas. The trails change from dry to muddy and the area from the higher paramo grounds to more forested areas. Right in the beginning we also have to crisscross the river, named Rio Negro, several times and therefore rubber boots are a must for this second day of our trek. We reach our camp site in around 5 hours and spend the afternoon resting for the intended midnight climb. Day 4 If we decide to climb Sangay we start out at midnight and reach the summit in approximately 7 hours. The climb is not technically difficult but the volcano is steep and frozen at night. If there is snow cover we also have to use crampons and ice axes. Another risk are flying stones ejected with a great force from the crater and loose rocks, falling from the flanks. Therefore head protection is a must for the climb and we need of course a headlamp. The descent back to base camp takes another 3 hours and we spend the remaining day there resting and sleeping. Day 5 On this day we start our walk back towards Guargualla. We leave Campamento Playas early in the morning and move the same way out we came in, crossing rivers and walking along small mountain ridges till we reach our camp site in Plaza Pampa, where we spend the last night. Day 6 Again early in the morning we start to hike moving along the valley to reach the community of Guargualla after an 8-hour hike. We load everything into the van and begin our drive back to Quito, where we arrive later in the evening at around 8 pm.
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