From Riobamba it is simply a big white mountain above the fields.
In the Arenal, at 4,300 meters, the landscape turns to desert – and the vicuñas look back at you.
At the Carrel refuge, 4,850 m, the road ends. Above: ice, rockfall, and the point closest to outer space.
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up into the reserve
The Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo is open, the Hermanos Carrel refuge at 4,850 m (15,912 ft) can be reached by car, and anyone may hike to Laguna Cóndor Cocha at 5,100 m (16,732 ft) without a guide. Entry is free – anyone demanding money at the gate is acting without authorization, according to the environment ministry. The glacier and the summit require a certified mountain guide. The volcano itself has been dormant since the first millennium.
Register with your name and ID at the El Arenal checkpoint, then 8 km (5 miles) of gravel to the parking lot at the refuge – Ecuador's highest refuge parking lot. Cafeteria, restrooms, 52 beds. Daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
From the Carrel refuge about 1 km and 45 minutes on foot to the closed Whymper refuge (approx. 5,000 m), another 500 m to the lagoon. A guide is mandatory only for groups of 16 or more. Above 5,000 m – acclimatized visitors only.
Above the lagoon the glacier and rockfall terrain begins. Summit climbs go only with an ASEGUIM/IFMGA guide, two clients per guide, departing around 10 to 11 p.m. from the Carrel refuge or the high camp at 5,300 m.
Photo: David Torres Costales · CC BY-SA 3.0
Chimborazo is the only mountain in Ecuador where a car takes you higher than the summit of Mont Blanc. From the parking lot at the Carrel refuge a short trail crosses the 5,000-meter mark – no guide, no fee, but you feel it with every breath.
The access road from the Riobamba–Guaranda highway runs eight kilometers through the Arenal, a sand desert at 4,300 m (14,100 ft). This is vicuña country: reintroduced in 1988 with 200 animals from Chile and Peru, 6,743 counted in 2018, more than 8,000 estimated today. You see them from the car, almost guaranteed, most active in the morning and late afternoon.
The road ends at the Hermanos Carrel refuge. 4,850 m, a cafeteria, a view of the glaciers, and 0 to 12 °C (32–54 °F) with wind and often fog. The trail to the Whymper refuge is only a kilometer long, but it climbs past 5,000 m (16,400 ft) – 45 minutes in which you become very slow. The hut has been closed for years and is decaying; the small Laguna Cóndor Cocha 500 m farther on at 5,100 m is the goal for everyone without a guide.
Above that another world begins: glacier, rockfall, the El Castillo ridge. What looks like a dome from below is a two-day climb with a night ascent and at least a week of acclimatization. And at the very top, at 6,263 m (20,548 ft), the point on the Earth's surface farthest from the center of the planet.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026. The tour market at Chimborazo is small and young – a handful of reviews says little about quality, only about demand. Summit climbs are booked directly with operators using ASEGUIM guides.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
The rules at Chimborazo are simple, but they are not always respected at the gate: in 2025 people demanded up to $45 for “guiding” or “entry”. The ministry filed a criminal complaint. What actually applies:
At the El Arenal checkpoint you write down your name and ID number. That is it. All of Ecuador's mainland protected areas have been free since 2012 – for locals and foreigners.
Anyone selling “entry” or a “mandatory guide” is not authorized, according to the ministry. Decline politely, register, drive on. What is legitimate: community transport from the checkpoint to the refuge ($25–35 per vehicle) if you have no car of your own.
Below Laguna Cóndor Cocha a guide is mandatory only for groups of 16 or more. The Riobamba municipality recommends a nature guide because of fog but does not require one. For the glacier and the summit: certified ASEGUIM/IFMGA guide, two clients per guide.
52 beds, reservations via refugioschimborazo@gmail.com or phone 0979084401; according to portals about $15 for a bed, about $30 with meals. The private high camp at 5,300 m is available only through operators. The Whymper refuge is closed.
| Entry to the Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo, Ecuadorians and foreigners alike (Acuerdo Ministerial 006/2012) | free |
| Registration at the checkpoint (name, ID number) | free, mandatory |
| Hermanos Carrel refuge: bed (portals, not official) | approx. $15 |
| Hermanos Carrel refuge: bed with meals (portals, not official) | approx. $30 |
| Community transport checkpoint – refuge, per vehicle (not official) | $25–35 |
| “Guiding” by people at the gate (up to $45) – unauthorized according to the ministry | do not pay |
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
| Road El Arenal (4,300 m / 14,100 ft) – Hermanos Carrel refuge (4,850 m / 15,912 ft) | 8 km (5 miles) of gravel, 15–20 minutes by car, about 2 hours on foot through vicuña country. Free; community transport $25–35 per vehicle. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Snow on the road possible. |
| Trail Carrel refuge – Whymper refuge (approx. 5,000 m / 16,400 ft) – Laguna Cóndor Cocha (5,100 m / 16,732 ft) | About 1 km and 45 minutes to Whymper, another 500 m to the lagoon, 30 minutes back. No guide needed, free. Scree and snow, acclimatized visitors only. |
| Normal route Arista Occidental / El Castillo – Cumbre Veintimilla – Cumbre Whymper (6,263 m / 20,548 ft) | Departure 10–11 p.m. from the Carrel refuge or the high camp (5,300 m); 8–12 hours of ascent, about 5 of them on the glacier; from Veintimilla another hour to the main summit if the snow holds; 3–5 hours down. ASEGUIM/IFMGA guide only, from about $400–600. |
| Mountain-bike descents Carrel refuge – Talahua / Cruz del Arenal – Yurak Uksha | 1–3 hours on cycling routes designated by the ministry, 1,000 m (3,300 ft) of descent. Operators from Riobamba from about $45 including transport. Helmet. |
Photo: Morgen Mills · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Earth is not a sphere: at the equator it is about 21 km (13 miles) thicker than at the poles. Chimborazo stands 1.5 degrees south of the equator, Everest almost 28 degrees north. That is why the summit of Chimborazo lies farther from the Earth's center than any other point on the planet's surface – measured, not estimated.
Distance from the Earth's center: 6,384,415.98 m (± 3 m). Measured by GPS on the summit on February 5, 2016 by a Franco-Ecuadorian mission of the IGM, IRD and IG-EPN – 280 years after the first French geodesic mission of 1735.
2,586 m (8,484 ft) higher above sea level – but about 2.1 km (1.3 miles) closer to the Earth's center. Whoever stands on Chimborazo is closer to outer space than any Everest climber. In 1802 Humboldt still believed Chimborazo to be the highest mountain in the world.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
Without a car: From the Riobamba terminal, bus toward Guaranda, get off at the turnoff to the reserve (km 44/45); from there 8 km to the refuge – community vehicles $25–35 per car or about 2 hours on foot. More practical are tours or pickups from Riobamba (day logistics with refuge visit from about $45 per person).
By car: From Riobamba via Calpi and San Juan on the road to Guaranda (E491) to the El Arenal turnoff, then 8 km of gravel to the parking lot at the Carrel refuge (4,850 m). Also reachable from Ambato via the Ambato–Guaranda road. The province plans to rehabilitate the 41 km Calpi–San Juan–El Arenal from 2026; until then the road surface is poor. Parking at the refuge is free.
Drier windows December–January and June–September; February to May is the wettest. For a view of the summit come early in the day – according to the press the 11 a.m.–2 p.m. window is the most reliable, while mountain guides swear by early morning; fog from the afternoon on. Vicuñas can be seen year-round along the access road in the Arenal.
Photo: David Torres Costales · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
Yes. By car you reach the Carrel refuge at 4,850 m, and on foot it is 45 minutes to the Whymper refuge and Laguna Cóndor Cocha at 5,100 m – no guide, no fee. Only the glacier requires mountaineering experience.
No. Like all of Ecuador's mainland protected areas, the reserve has been free since 2012; there is only the registration at the checkpoint. Anyone demanding money there for “entry” or “mandatory guiding” is not authorized, according to the ministry.
To the parking lot at the Hermanos Carrel refuge at 4,850 m (15,912 ft) – higher than Mont Blanc. 8 km of gravel from the El Arenal checkpoint, 15 to 20 minutes. Without your own car, community vehicles run for $25–35 per vehicle.
The operator registers summit climbs with the reserve administration and provides the certified guide; a formal quota like at Cotopaxi is not documented for Chimborazo. Without an ASEGUIM/IFMGA guide it is not possible.
Yes – you almost always see the vicuñas in the Arenal, and the walk past 5,000 m is an experience in itself. For a view of the summit, come early; according to the press the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. window is the most reliable, while mountain guides swear by early morning.
Yes, as of September 22, 2026, the reserve, the Carrel refuge and the summit route are open; there is no alert level and no closure notice. The volcano itself has been quiet since the first millennium. The last short closure followed the avalanche of October 2021.
Nothing – all of Ecuador's mainland protected areas have been free since 2012. At the checkpoint you register with your ID. Anyone demanding money at the gate for 'entry' or 'mandatory guiding' is not authorized, according to the ministry; a complaint was filed in 2025.
By car to the Hermanos Carrel refuge at 4,850 m, on foot to the closed Whymper refuge (approx. 5,000 m) and to Laguna Cóndor Cocha (5,100 m). Below the glacier a guide is mandatory only for groups of 16 or more; for the glacier and the summit you need a certified ASEGUIM/IFMGA guide.
Two days: travel to the Carrel refuge or the high camp (5,300 m), departure around 10–11 p.m., 8–12 hours to Cumbre Veintimilla, another hour to the Whymper main summit if the snow holds, 3–5 hours of descent. Before that at least a week of acclimatization.
The drive to the Carrel refuge and the vicuñas are family-friendly; the trail to the Whymper refuge climbs past 5,000 m and makes sense only with acclimatized children – turn back at the first headache. The summit is reserved for adults with mountaineering experience.
Winter clothing even for the refuge visit: 0–12 °C (32–54 °F), wind, often rain or snow. Fleece, windproof jacket, hat, gloves, sunglasses and sunscreen, sturdy shoes. Glacier equipment for the summit is provided by the operator.
About 50 km (30 miles), 1.5–2 hours: via Calpi and San Juan on the road to Guaranda to the El Arenal turnoff (km 44/45), then 8 km of gravel to the refuge. Without a car: bus toward Guaranda to the turnoff and a community vehicle ($25–35 per car), or a day tour from Riobamba from about $45.
Volcanically, no – no activity for more than 1,300 years. The risks are altitude (parking lot at 4,850 m), weather and, on the glacier, avalanches and rockfall: in October 2021 six climbers died in an avalanche, and the old route via Whymper has been considered too dangerous since 2019. Hence the night ascent and the guide requirement.
Yes. Because the Earth is about 21 km 'thicker' at the equator, the summit lies 6,384,415.98 m (±3 m) from the Earth's center – about 2.1 km farther than Everest. A Franco-Ecuadorian GPS mission (IGM, IRD, IG-EPN) measured it on February 5, 2016.
6,263 m (20,548 ft; GPS measurement 2016: 6,263.47 m). The older figure of 6,310 m is still found on many sites. The main summit is called Whymper, the fore-summit Veintimilla; in all the mountain has four summits.
At the Hermanos Carrel refuge (4,850 m, 52 beds, cafeteria), yes – reservations via refugioschimborazo@gmail.com, phone 0979084401, according to portals about $15 for a bed or $30 with meals; in 2025 mountain guides criticized the facilities (water, electricity, heating). The Whymper refuge is closed.
Year-round and almost guaranteed along the 8 km access road through the Arenal, most active in the morning and late afternoon. The population grew from 200 animals in 1988 to more than 6,700 (2018 count) and an estimated 8,000-plus (2023).
Sources · accessed on 22 September 2026
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