At Hotel Carlota, we believe the qualities that make someone exceptional in their work discipline, resilience, the ability to keep going when the terrain gets hard are the same ones that show up outside the office. Our team doesn’t stop being remarkable when they clock out, and Paola Bautista is proof of that.
Paola is our Operations Manager the person who ensures that every detail of the guest experience at our boutique hotel in Quito’s Historic Center runs with precision and care. But on April 9th, 2026, she traded the hotel corridors for mountain trails, and lined up at the start of one of Ecuador’s most demanding trail running events.
This is a story about what happens when the same commitment that drives great hospitality meets a 20-kilometer mountain race with nearly 2,000 meters of elevation gain. If you want to understand the culture behind our team at Hotel Carlota, this is a good place to start.
The Petzl Trail Plus Ecuador’s Mountain Running Challenge
Now in its tenth edition, the Petzl Trail Plus took place on April 9th, 2026, in Baños de Agua Santa one of Ecuador’s most iconic adventure destinations, nestled at the foot of the active Tungurahua volcano.
The race offers multiple categories. Paola competed in the 20km Trail de la Virgen a route that carries approximately 1,940 meters of positive elevation gain, making it one of the most physically demanding categories on the course. This is not a road race. It is a technical mountain trail that tests strength, strategy, and mental endurance in equal measure.
According to the International Trail Running Association, trail running events with over 1,500 meters of elevation gain per 20km are classified as highly demanding placing the Petzl Trail Plus firmly in the category of serious mountain racing.
The Route from Ulba to the Virgen Basilica
The race begins at the Estadio de la Parroquia Ulba, sitting at 1,670 meters above sea level. From there, runners immediately begin climbing ascending through trails toward Cerro Cabeza de Perro, one of the defining early challenges of the route.
The course then follows the ridge of El Palmar, where panoramic views of the valley and the city of Baños open up on both sides a reward that arrives in the middle of one of the hardest sections of the climb.
From there, runners cross through El Tablón locally known as La Banca del Amor before descending through Los Sauces and into the trails of Illuchi Bajo. The route then moves through the city center, passing the bus terminal before reaching one of the race’s most iconic points: the demanding staircase of the Virgen, a steep, exposed climb with privileged views of the volcano.
After the staircase, narrow technical trails lead to La Casa del Árbol home of the famous “Swing at the End of the World” perched at the edge of the ridge with the active Tungurahua volcano filling the horizon. From there, a technical descent through Runtún brings runners back down into the city, finishing at the Basílica de the Virgen de Agua Santa.
Baños de Agua Santa is one of Ecuador’s top adventure travel destinations, and the Petzl Trail Plus route captures everything that makes the area extraordinary the altitude, the volcano views, the terrain variety, and the raw beauty of the Ecuadorian Andes.
Paola’s Experience In Her Own Words
After crossing the finish line, Paola shared her thoughts on the race:
“A race full of great lessons. I enjoyed the process and understood that every achievement is built along the way. I set out to experience it differently this time — in all its dimensions: the climbs and the descents, holding nothing back, staying focused on the route and, above all, giving everything at the finish line, which had always been my biggest challenge. This year, I managed to overcome it.”
What stands out in Paola’s reflection isn’t just the physical achievement it’s the approach. She didn’t run this race to survive it. She ran it to experience it fully, to push through the part that had previously been her limit, and to come out the other side having grown.
That mindset show up completely, hold nothing back, find the lesson in the difficulty — is exactly the attitude she brings to her role at Hotel Carlota every day.
Why This Matters to Us as a Hotel
It would be easy to post this as a simple congratulations and move on. But at Hotel Carlota, we share Paola’s story because it reflects something we genuinely believe about the kind of team we want to build.
We invest in our people’s professional growth through structured sustainability and operations training. We take our team through the streets and museums of the Historic Center so they understand the culture they’re representing. And we celebrate when someone from our team shows up at the start line of a mountain race and gives everything they have.
These things are connected. A team member who sets a personal challenge, trains for months, faces a hard course, and chooses to push through the difficult final stretch that person brings something to their work that no job description can manufacture. Discipline. Perspective. The quiet confidence that comes from having done hard things.
Our guests experience the result of that every time they stay with us.
Congratulations, Paola
On behalf of everyone at Hotel Carlota congratulations, Paola. Tenth edition of the Petzl Trail Plus, 20 kilometers, nearly 2,000 meters of climb, and a finish line you crossed on your own terms.
We’re proud to have you leading our operations team, and we’re even prouder to watch you lead yourself on the trail.
If you’d like to meet the team behind the experience, book your stay at Hotel Carlota and see firsthand what it means to be welcomed by people who bring this level of commitment to everything they do.