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Een fantastisch uitzicht van 4000 m. hoogte

Javier 27 februari 2017 Ecuador Reistips

Local Hero Javier heeft samen met zijn collega´s en vrienden de Teleférico in Quito beklommen. Zijn ervaring heeft hij met ons gedeeld. Daarnaast geeft hij je ook een paar handige tips voor als je zelf de berg wil beklimmen.

Climbing the Teleférico

You might have already heard about the Teleférico in Quito, an attraction of cable cars that allow you to jump from ca. 2850 to 4100 masl within 15 minutes. As your Local Hero who was born in Guayaquil (sea level), I can confirm that it can be a little difficult and not recommendable to do it immediately after arriving to such heights. I would say you need at least two days to get used to the height of Quito first before going all the way up to 4100 masl or even about 700 m. higher to the crater viewpoint.

Spectacular view

The view while sitting in the cable car is spectacular! During the way up, you will see Quito from a different perspective: a big and modern city lying alongside the volcano that stretches from North to South in the valley.

Upon arrival to the top of the Teleférico you have the magical view of a smaller Quito in perspective. From several lookout points you get to see the different parts of the city and I found it a fun game to try and find specific places, if you have a good eye of course. At this point you can sit down and relax with a coffee (or any beverage) or a snack in the cafeterias and simply enjoy the view. Your Local Hero likes healthy food and some type of snacks come in very handy for such activities. I packed the following for this journey: chocolate milk drinks, energy bars and bananas (potassium for sore muscles and to avoid cramps).

I am not a nutritionist, but this diets works perfectly for me when doing power hikes.

Walk further up a volcano

From here it is possible to walk further up the extinguished volcano Rucu Pichincha. The path is mostly clear, although some parts may require a little extra effort to grab and pull yourself up on rocks. A guide is not compulsory for this track, but I would recommend to go with someone who knows the way and that can give tips for the parts that require an extra effort.  A good idea is also to get an application on your phone for maps that are available offline. This way you can check if you are on the right path and keep track of the distance. I used a very handy app from Maps.me!

Tips for climbing by yourself 

The whole experience is breathtaking (sometimes literally!) and I would recommend to leave as early as possible especially during rainy seasons when the skies get clouded very easily from mid-morning or even earlier on. The hike may take approximately 3 hours till the viewpoint of the crater. Be prepared in your mind for a slight frustration as it can get very foggy by the time you arrive to the top part, but don’t let it disappoint you. This walk is great and the feeling of reaching high really is really indescribable. Don’t forget to pause and breathe and always listen to your wise body. If you lack of training the breaks to catch your breath come in very useful, as well as some “tricks” for the heights you can get before going up. Panela (unrefined sugar), coca leaves or candies, bananas, chocolate and water are a good companion to the top! And of course you should put on warm and waterproof clothes as weather can be very unpredictable: think of fog, rain and wind.

A great feeling

Once you reach the top at around 4700 masl you will feel so great and fulfilled. Take a break before going down while you recover some energy with a healthy snack. At this point I also liked chatting with my fellow adventurers that as no other understood what I just went through to make it all the way up here.

Time to go back down

After a good rest and once you have recharged your batteries, it is time to go back down. You should be careful in the first part when going down, as it can be a little steep and sandy until you reach the more even part of the path. Your childhood may unconsciously pop up: it is really fun to slide down in this part! Get ready to fall down on your bottom every now and then.  What really worked for me to avoid knee pain (going down may cause big impact on your knees) is to put your body sideways towards the volcano. Your Local Hero needed two days to recover well, but I am definitely ready for my next adventure to my next mountain! I will keep you posted.

Have a great walk and enjoy the trip!

Your Local Hero in Ecuador, Javier

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