Hiking to Rucu Pichincha
(4669 m) from Quito
If you have partied the night before and came back late and feel hungover or you don’t feel acclimatized, postpone this activity by a day. You must’ve had enough sleep and not being hungover to do this challenge and you need to get up early to have the best views! Usually, the clearest weather is in the morning and clouds appear more and more throughout the day. To get to the starting point of the climb, take an Uber to Quitos’ cable car “TeleferiQo” and use it (8.50 $, Round-Trip). If you’re the adventurous type of traveler and want to climb Rucu Pichincha, this viewpoint (“Cruz de Loma” at 4000 m) is your starting point.
Though the hiking path is pretty straight forward, you should use Komoot or another offline hiking map just to be sure of where you’re going. The hike takes approximately 2.5 hours up and 2 hours down. Since you will want to take some breaks (you’ll need them!) and enjoy the summit, you should account for at least 6 hours, meaning you will have to leave your hostel early, because the Uber takes 20 min to the cable car, there is some waiting time involved for both getting the ticket and entering the cable car, and you want to enjoy the viewpoint a bit as well. Overall, that means leaving the hostel around 7 AM, latest 8 AM. I left at 9:30 AM, because I’m a lazy b*tch and I do regret that. I had to rush a bit while hiking and couldn’t spend as much time as I wanted on the sights. Also, I was the last person to leave the summit. Don’t do this mistake. However, hiking to Rucu Pichincha is a great introduction to the other mountain climbing and hiking activities you can do all over the Andes, which are mostly harder than this.
If you are feeling fit and have enough time left (you’ll have to start very early) you can keep hiking from Rucu Pichincha to Guagua Pichincha, which is the “real peak” of the Pichincha Volcano on the perimeter of the volcanoes’ caldera. The hike characteristics are below.
Important Note
Take a raincoat and rain pants with you, even if the weather seems perfectly fine. Weather can change quickly in the mountains, and I was glad to be equipped. While there was not a single visible cloud in the morning, it was hailing cats and dogs in the afternoon. Going up in sneakers will be the worst idea you’ve ever had, because at one point you even have to walk through a sand field and will need proper grip when walking over some narrow spots. Bring proper hiking boots! And lastly, don’t forget to bring lunch with you! You will have the possibility to buy something at the viewpoint, but if you require a special diet (I’m vegetarian) you will need to bring something from the city.
Storytime: My Experience on Climbing Rucu Pichincha
For me this was the first time ever crossing the boundary of 4,000 m and I surely did underestimate what altitude sickness means. Personally, this was the first step towards my ultimate goal of climbing my first 6,000er later on in Bolivia (read here). I was a little nervous at the beginning, but I just kept going and going. I saw an impressive wild caracara bird chilling just a meter away from me as well as plants I’ve never seen before. Step by Step I worked my way up to the mountain. I had to take tons of breaks, but I soon found the right rhythm between stepping and breathing.
Force your body to breathe faster than it seems necessary and walk in a slow, peaceful rhythm and you will master any mountain. The lack of oxygen on this height is very demanding and your muscles will not be able to keep up with your oxygen intake if you walk too fast. I soon reached a sand field that resembled the second to last part before reaching the summit. Hiking through sand, uphill, at 4,500 m is really hard. Two steps forward, one step back. It was literally breathtaking, but I was focused on reaching the summit, so I kept going and going. After the sand field I left my hiking poles at the side and started climbing with my hands. It is not far and not technically very hard, but it is demanding and the last piece before you reach the summit. Then, I finally got there, and I was so happy.
I was flooded with joy, having climbed my first mountain in South America. The views were crazy, I could see how the mountain range separate the cloudy west from the sunny east, while another ply of clouds was right above my head. I ate my lunch and when everybody was gone, and I remained the last one on the summit I started dancing. Unbelievable feeling. Then I started to realize that thunder is approaching, and this is a very bad thing, when you are on the highest point in the area. Time to descend. I slowly climb down, grab my hiking poles and work my way down the sand field while a hailing storm starts. After a few minutes it stops and I just keep hiking rather quickly, not to be trapped on the mountain when a real storm commences. After half an hour or so I didn’t have resources to hurry anymore and the weather seemed better, so I walked more slowly. I felt how a headache was forming in my head and got worse and worse.
After another half an hour or so the headache was at its peak and it hurt so much, the only thing I could think of is reaching that cable car and descending to Quito. After watching to my feet for a while during the hike, I lifted my head and looked to the mountains and Quito in the distance. That was the moment I realized that I definitely underestimated the altitude. I felt like I was taking some psychedelics. The entire landscape zoomed in and out, while morphing its shape. I was so scared that I immediately dropped my hiking poles, sat down, and chugged the tiny rest of my water. The headache, the visual impairment, the fatigue. I was having a form of altitude sickness. Apparently, my body was not acclimatized enough, and believe me, it’s not fun. Not at all. People die from altitude sickness, so be very careful, don’t overdo your abilities and listen to your body. When your body signals that there is something wrong, don’t override it. Eventually I reached the cable car, descended to the city, but the headache was not going away. I’ve thrown some Ibuprofen to be able to sleep and fortunately, the next morning I was perfectly fine. No headache, I was refreshed and ready for the next adventure, but I slept a solid 10 hours. What a ride.
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