If you’re traveling the Quilotoa Loop, you won’t find museum-lined paved streets or commercialized stores. Rather, the Quilotoa Loop offers a unique opportunity to witness Ecuador’s Quichua-speaking indigenous groups in authentic surroundings where their cultural heritage pervades their daily lives. The loop trails its way through the well-promoted villages of Quilotoa and Latacunga as well as smaller Andean towns less touched by the region’s ecotourism. The capstone of the tour is Quilotoa’s Crater Lake, which is not only an attraction in and of itself but which offers views into the Ilinizas Reserve and swathes of cloud forest.