Latacunga, a small city between a huge lagoon and a massive volcano
The centre of Ecuador is full of lagoons and volcanoes. If you stay to Latacunga you can easily reach the fantastic Quilotoa lagoon. It's inside of an inactive volcano erupted hundreds of year ago. The colour is amazing. You can go around the crater for a walk of about 4hours or go down to the lagoon which takes 3hours in total. Don't forget you are at about 4000mt above the sea level. From Latacunga it's possible also to reach the second highest volcano of Ecuador, the Cotopaxi. The park is huge, and it's not possible to enter walking. You can book a tour right outside the park or, as I did, hitchhik. On the way to the volcano there's a lagoon too. Cars will take you to about 4500mt, then you need to walk to the refuge. You will reach the 5100mt. After this point, it starts to be icy so a specific equipment is highly recommended, if you want to reach the 6000mt.