Ecuador Cotacachi Tours

Ecuador Cotacachi Tours explore a small Andean town in Imbabura province known for its leather workshops and its setting between a dormant volcano and a crater lake. Cotacachi sits about two hours north of Quito in the northern highlands, close enough to other Ecuador highland attractions to fit easily into a single day.

The town's central plaza and the streets running off it are lined with leather shops and craft workshops, a trade that has shaped Cotacachi's economy for generations. Visitors can watch artisans working hides into jackets, bags and boots in small storefronts, many family-run for decades.

Cotacachi's Leather District

Calle 10 de Agosto, the town's main commercial street, holds the largest concentration of leather stores, ranging from simple stalls to larger workshops that also sell wool textiles and other local crafts. The pace here is unhurried compared with nearby market towns, and much of the leatherwork is still produced on site rather than trucked in from elsewhere.

Prices and quality vary block to block, so visitors who want a specific item often spend an hour or two comparing a handful of workshops before buying. Saturday mornings tend to bring more foot traffic to the plaza, coinciding with market activity in the wider region.

Cuicocha Crater Lake and Cotacachi Volcano

West of town, Cuicocha fills the caldera of a dormant volcano with turquoise water and two forested islets near its center. A trail circles the rim of the crater, offering views down to the lake and, on clear days, across to Cotacachi volcano itself, which rises to nearly 4,939 meters above the surrounding farmland.

The full rim trail takes most hikers four to five hours to complete, though shorter viewpoints near the parking area are enough for visitors with limited time. Boat trips across the lake toward the islets run seasonally, though landing on the islets themselves is restricted to protect the vegetation.

Getting to Cotacachi

Public buses and organized transportation both run between Quito and Cotacachi, usually routed through Otavalo along the Pan-American Highway. Many visitors treat Cotacachi as a stop within a wider loop of the region rather than a separate trip, given how close it sits to Otavalo, Cuicocha and the Peguche waterfall.

Cotacachi Tour Packages

Because Cotacachi sits so close to Otavalo, many day tours combine the two towns in a single itinerary. Otavalo Shared Tour from Quito is one option that pairs Otavalo's market with time in the surrounding Imbabura countryside, including stops near Cotacachi.

Travelers based in Quito can reach the area comfortably in a day, though an overnight stay allows more time for both the crater lake trail and the leather district without rushing either one.