Cotopaxi and Pichincha

Ryan and I traveled to Secret Garden in Cotopaxi. It was easy as they transferred you from the Secret Garden in Quito to the one near the volcano. It is an active volcano but lessening in activity over the last year.

Secret Garden

Secret Garden is an amazing hostal. We started in the hobbit house which was for a single or family. The food was amazing and there is so much to eat and the views were incredible.

They have llamas that love bananas. Since they are an everyday snack to take at will, there are many skins saved here for the llamas that we are encouraged to feed. This one comes running.

Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi is in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador and is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. It is 5,897 meters (19,347 feet) high, and its almost perfect cone shape at the summit always has snow. The volcano is part of the Cotopaxi National Park. From the hostal, you can see it and two other volcanoes.

Though it is still active, climbing can occur up to the glacier but not to the summit.

This is Ruminahui which is a dormant and heavily eroded volcano. Climbing it requires rock climbing.

Iliniza north and south volcanoes. These twin mountains are literally 1 km from each other.

Pasachoa is another notable peak near the hostal but with my knee still not at 100%, it was not worth the risk. Ryan went on that hike though.

The paramo

A paramo is a unique high-altitude ecosystem found in the Andes Mountains, and is found between 3,000 and 4,500 meters (9,800 to 14,800 feet) in elevation. It is alpine tundra. The vegetation is grasses and shrubs that are adapted to the harsh environmental conditions. Temperatures can be cold and the weather changes drastically. The UV radiation here is high. Paramos play a crucial role in regulating water. Paramos support diverse wildlife, including unique bird species and mammals adapted to the challenging mountain environment. The horses and llamas here are wild.

I took a horse back riding tour across the paramo. It was amazing and very beautiful.

We stopped to have a snack midway through the hike.

Cotopaxi glacier

The glacier is at an altitude of 5100 m or 16732 ft. It was tough in breathing but not very difficult. The volcanic ash made for summer find descending back down.

Ryan rented a bike to ride down from part of the volcano.

Pichincha

Earlier in the week we went to Pichincha which is not far from my house and the city. It is an active volcano but the part that you can climb is not active. We did not climb the whole route but had impressive views of the city.