Enjoy an amazing challenge in the Ecuadorian Andes! Explore one of the most unknown protected areas in Ecuador that has one of the most beautiful volcanoes in the country... Do a nice hike in high altitude and discover new landscapes surrounded by other volcanoes!! Go out of the beaten path...
Ilinizas are a relatively unknown protected area that offers well preserved ecosystems to do hiking excursions and also to practice photography over extraordinary landscapes. Just one and a half hours south from Quito, we will find this magical reserve that is located at the foothills of El Corazón Volcano (4.710 meters above sea level) and Ilinizas Volcano (5.305 meters above sea level), both of them are currently inactive. We will start at 07h30 from your hotel, and at 10h00 with the encounter of the twin picks “Ilinizas”, you will be surrounded by farmed lands, haciendas, pristine forests, wild horses and ecosystems that change amazingly as you go higher. You will also observe the exotic fauna while taking part of the hike offered in this unique and unknown adventure. Ilinizas Ecological Reserve was created in 1996 as a protected area for volcanoes and well preserved forests within it. Once we start hiking from the parking lot known as “La Virgen”, which is located at 3.750 meters above sea level, you will be impressed by the extraordinary views during all the activities. An impressive variety of animals live within the 149.900-hectare reserve such as condors, pumas, hummingbirds, white tailed deer, Andean foxes, carunculated caracaras, rabbits, frogs, and many others! During the two hour hike we will reach an altitude of approximately 4.700 meters above sea level. Finally, at the refuge “Nuevos Horizontes”, which is located between the two picks of the volcano, we will have enough time to rest. Going down from this point to the parking lot is much easier! During the drive we stop in El Chaupi, which is a lovely little village, there we will rest again a little bit, enjoying the relaxed and quiet life of the local people. You will be back in your hotel approximately at 17h00.