Ecuador 2026

January 7th. Greetings from Ecuador from the "Kalya Nullya ili Malevichi" group! Today we took a stunning trip to the amazing Lake Quilotoa, located in the crater of a volcano.

On the way to the lake, we stopped in the village of Tigua, home to the Quechua Indians. There's a gallery there with paintings by the locally renowned artist Alfredo Toakis. Locals respectfully repeat that Alfredo's paintings have been exhibited in Paris!

We arrived at the rim of the crater around 11 a.m. and began our descent down to the lake itself from 3900 to 3500. A very convenient road to the lake was recently built. As you walk, you'll see a new, stunning view around every turn. We didn't dare swim in the lake itself before the climb – we just wet our feet. Then we climbed back up to the rim of the crater. Here we had a photo shoot with the alpacas. And for lunch, a long-awaited surprise awaited us – cuy! or guinea pig. It's delicious here.

By evening, we were already on the slopes of Cotopaxi, in the cozy Los Martinos mountain hotel at an altitude of 3,700 meters. Tomorrow, training is planned on the slopes of Cotopaxi.

Lyudmila Korobeshko, a guide in Ecuador, was on the line.

December 6th. Greetings from Ecuador from the "Near zero" group! Today we climbed the first volcano on our program, Guagua Pichincha, at 4,800 meters. On the way up, we encountered Andean wolves (a mountain fox) and caracara birds. We climbed through snow, which is rare here, and barely found the summit in the fog. On the descent, we drank tea made from local Ecuadorian coca (sunfo) at the hut – it immediately invigorated us.

In the evening, we arrived at a very beautiful place – the ancient 17th-century hacienda La Cienega. Each room has a fireplace, there's a church right inside the hacienda, and a beautiful courtyard with a fountain and palm trees. We celebrated our first ascent and Christmas over dinner! Tomorrow we're heading to a unique place – a lake inside a crater!

The 7 Summits Club Guide  Lyudmila Korobeshko.

January 5th. Today was our group's first full day in Ecuador. And we had a very busy time. Early in the morning, we headed to the equator. We saw how the local tribes lived, how they scalped and boiled skulls. We also saw the anacondas and boa constrictors that inhabit the local jungle.

We conducted a series of experiments right on the equator. Even one of our members, Alexey, managed to balance an egg on a nail, for which he received a special diploma.

 Then we strolled through the historic center of Quito, visiting the Bun Hill with its winged Virgin Mary at the summit. There, we had lunch at a very picturesque restaurant and then headed to the slopes of the active volcano, Rucu Pichincha. We acclimatized at 4,100 meters and barely escaped a thunderstorm. We ended the evening at an Italian restaurant, where we discussed plans for tomorrow.

 Tomorrow is our first mountain.  7 Summits Club Super Guide Lyudmila Korobeshko from Ecuador.

January 4th. Today, the first Ecuadorian group assembled in Quito! Those who arrived early had a chance to stroll through Quito's historic center. All participants completed their gear check today. Tomorrow, we'll head to the equator to conduct some interesting experiments, then take the cable car as high as possible (4,000+ meters) to see Quito from above and acclimatize.

 Now, the participants' main priority is to get enough sleep and adjust to local time, which is a whopping 8 hours behind Moscow.

 Lyudmila Korobeshko, the guide oof the 7 Summits Club from Ecuador, is on the line.