There are great trips and treks around Ecuadors highest mountain Chimborazo. The first and easiest is to get to the Chimborazo Refugio or Base Camp which is where mountain climbers leave to climb Chimborazo. The other is a trek from the indigenous community of Arenal to the quaint chocolate producing village of Salinas.
We start the trek in the small community of Arenal which at 4,200 meters is located higher than any other inhabited site in Ecuador and journey past the Andean villages of Pachancho, Rio Colorado, and Esperanza. These communities rarely see tourists and its common for the children to run out of their school to greet strange visitors from foreign lands like us.
On the first night we stay at a warm and comfortable guesthouse in Salinas, a small town with coloured houses and cobblestone streets that is world famous for its cheese and chocolate and hand made Alpaca clothing.
In the afternoon we will arrive at the volcanically heated hot springs where we can rest our muscles before camping by the river beneath Mt. Chimborazo.
Tour costs $175 per person (min 2 people) and it includes
- Transportation from and to Riobamba
- Local guide
- Carrying mules
- Mountain guide
- All camping equipment
- All meals during the tour
- Lodging in Salinas
- Small city tour of the town
- Entrance to the thermal springs of Salinas
