<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Ecuador’s “Quilotoa Loop”</strong> is a circuit of small towns in the Cotopaxi Province of the Andes connected by mostly paved roads and made famous by the Quilotoa volcano and crater lake. Along the way you’ll encounter colorful indigenous markets, a crystal-blue lake that the local people believe has no bottom, a community of painters who are preserving the legends of the Andes, and ancient trails that meander in the shadow of snowcapped volcanoes. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The isolation of the loop brings you into contact with lots of Kichwa-speaking indigenous people and their centuries-old way of life. Quilotoa Volcano at 3,914 m (12,841 ft) high, is a 2 mile (3km) wide caldera filled with a brilliant blue lake. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The view from the edge of the crater 600 feet below (280 m) is nothing short of spectacular and is the highlight of the route of panoramic mountain scenery small villages that dot the roads between Quilotoa and the largest nearby city of Latacunga.</span></p>
