Quilotoa Loop by Jenny Cook

Photos by Ronnie Crosbie and Jenny Cook

The Quilotoa Loop, Ecuador, holds many unexpected treasures for those adventurous enough to take the road less traveled. Two hours South of Quito, the loop begins at Latacunga on a dusty, bumpy road that goes from bad to worse to worser to worsest at which point it’s only really safe for paragliders, but the rougher the road gets the better the view becomes, until you’re left speechless. The extreme v-shaped valleys the road cuts along are so vast that you can see centuries laid out before you. The shear walls of the valleys rise in steep contrast to the bowling-green plateaus that jut out from them. This vista is occasionally interrupted by little styled Andean villages littered with grubby but ‘oh so cute’ children. This unique formula of awe and fear is the quickest way to realising ones place in the universe and it’s a lot smaller than we usually think.

Half way round the loop sits the Black Sheep Inn Eco Lodge alone bastion that operates in stark contrast to the rest of Ecuador environmental policy. Here everything works, everything has been thought about and it is all about sustainability. Tea bag wrappers become notepaper and glass bottles building materials. Dry composting toilets, with delightful indoor flower gardens, provide fertilizer for the local football pitch allowing you to do your bit for the community. Llama lawnmowers look after the grounds. The organic kitchen turns out vegetarian food that is wholesome and tasty and guests eat together family style. Other perks are the fantastic little outdoor sauna resembling a hobbit house (you have to crouch down to get in), and a soon to be completed yoga studio on the hillside with huge windows overlooking the canyon.

The best thing about staying here is the sense of well-being and calm that you feel, knowing that while you relax, unwind and enjoy the natural beauty of this special place, you are also supporting it’s preservation for generations. Make the most of it because there’s only one road out and it’s frightening.