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Avenue of the Volcanoes: Quito to Cuenca: 7-Day Plan You Can Actually Drive
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The 7-day version for July: every day fits real transit, opening hours and daylight. Prefer more or fewer days? 6-day plan · 7-day plan · best time to go.
💡 Good to know for this plan
- Preferred highland road-trip window: generally clearer and drier, while every park, road and volcano status still needs a current check.
- Light days: day 2, day 3, day 5 have one stop and time left over. Local tours and day trips are the way to fill them — each day links to what is bookable in its own town.
Before you go · check live details
This is a planning draft. Check these changing details for your dates before booking or travelling.
Some route advice is currently available in English.
- Check park and volcano access and planned for altitude
Check SIB/MAE access for Cotopaxi, Laguna Quilotoa and Chimborazo plus current IG-EPN reports. Use only open low-level visitor areas and delay or change the route when authorities restrict access or altitude readiness is inadequate.
Check source ↗ - Arrange the Quito–Cuenca car and check current roads.
Confirm a self-drive vehicle permitted on the route and, when hired, for one-way return in Cuenca, then check ECU 911 for every required road.
Check source ↗
Day 1 Quito
- Transit
- 2h18
- Finish
- ~14:15
- Temperature
- 7.8°C–19.9°C
- Rainy days
- ~6
- Daylight
- 12.0h
Day 2 Around Cotopaxi National Park
- Transit
- none
- Finish
- ~10:30
- Temperature
- 7.8°C–19.9°C
- Rainy days
- ~6
- Daylight
- 12.0h
Time to spare on this day
One stop and a free afternoon. We don't book activities, but these partners do.
Day 3 Laguna Quilotoa
- Transit
- 2h37
- Finish
- ~14:10
- Temperature
- 5.4°C–15.8°C
- Rainy days
- ~9
- Daylight
- 12.0h
Time to spare on this day
One stop and a free afternoon. We don't book activities, but these partners do.
Day 4 Baños
- Transit
- 3h58
- Finish
- ~17:25
- Temperature
- 11.2°C–18.9°C
- Rainy days
- ~21
- Daylight
- 11.9h
Day 5 Riobamba & Chimborazo
- Transit
- 1h17
- Finish
- ~12:20
- Temperature
- 5.1°C–15.1°C
- Rainy days
- ~13
- Daylight
- 11.9h
Time to spare on this day
One stop and a free afternoon. We don't book activities, but these partners do.
Day 6 Cuenca
- Transit
- 4h55
- Finish
- ~18:00
- Temperature
- 7.4°C–15.6°C
- Rainy days
- ~8
- Daylight
- 11.8h
Day 7 Around Cuenca
- Transit
- 0h24
- Finish
- ~13:40
- Temperature
- 7.4°C–15.6°C
- Rainy days
- ~8
- Daylight
- 11.8h
🔍 Check before you book
Every stop is a real, sourced place, but opening hours change, roads close and businesses move. Check anything you're paying for before you book.
Sources (10)
- Quito historic centre walk — visitquito.ecOfficial public visitor facts; original paraphrase, no reproduced source prose
- Wikivoyage — QuitoCC BY-SA 4.0 (facts extracted; prose not redistributed)
- Limpiopungo lagoon circuit — ambiente.gob.ecOfficial public visitor facts; original paraphrase, no reproduced source prose
- Laguna Quilotoa rim viewpoint — ambiente.gob.ecOfficial public visitor facts; original paraphrase, no reproduced source prose
- Wikivoyage — Laguna QuilotoaCC BY-SA 4.0 (facts extracted; prose not redistributed)
- Pailón del Diablo waterfall — banos-ecuador.comOfficial public visitor facts; original paraphrase, no reproduced source prose
- El Salado municipal thermal pools — municipiobanos.gob.ecOfficial public visitor facts; original paraphrase, no reproduced source prose
- Wikivoyage — BañosCC BY-SA 4.0 (facts extracted; prose not redistributed)
- Cuenca historic centre walk — cuenca.gob.ecOfficial public visitor facts; original paraphrase, no reproduced source prose
- Wikivoyage — Cuenca (Ecuador)CC BY-SA 4.0 (facts extracted; prose not redistributed)