The highest active volcano in the world - the volcano Cotopaxi, which is 200 km south of Quito, was so named by the Indians in honor of the "brilliant mountain", which, indeed, is visible far away on the line of the twilight horizon. And the snow-white snow caps of the peaks do not melt even under the scorching rays of the equatorial sun, since there is a constant low temperature.

The mountain has two perfectly round craters with ideal proportions. The road to the volcano is called the "avenue of volcanoes", wild horses, domesticated llamas, deer walk along it calmly, hummingbirds and Andean chibis fly out of the thickets

How to get to

The main entrance to the National Park is a few kilometers from the city Lasso. You can get there in two hours by bus from Quito along the Pan-American Highway. The northern entrance is through Machachi and is usually free. The cost of entry for foreign tourists is $ 10.

Routes and camps

The foot and slopes of the Cotopaxis are cut by special hiking trails, and at an altitude of 4700 meters of tourists waiting for a carefully prepared place for overnight stays . By the way, a comfortable campsite is also at the foot of the railway station where for $ 5 you can tent a tent, and for $ 10 per person a few days have access to the village cab about 400 meters from the entrance . Here you can get access to the trail that goes to Rumininui peak (4712 m) . Another popular track around the volcano is the "path from Condor" starting at Papallacta, passing near the volcano of Antisan and ending at Cotopaxi .

Close from the park are the major cities of Latakunga, Sangolki, San Rafael and Tumbako