Situated about 40 miles south of Quito in the "Avenue of Volcanoes", Cotopaxi National Park was founded in 1979 and covers about 33,500 hectares. It is an excellent place for trekking.
The snow-capped volcano (5897m) from which the park gets its name is the highest active volcano in the world. Cotopaxi has a perfect cone-shaped peak, and is the second highest peak in Ecuador, after Chimborazo (6310m). It rises from the surrounding highlands which are at an altitude of about 3800m, and the summit crater is 600m x 800m in diameter and several hundred meters deep.
Limpiopungo Lake, at 3840m, is a lovely place to walk to within the park. The landscape is of course dominated by the peaks, but the habitat is mostly the low-growing vegetation of the paramo with lycopoduims, gentians, valerian and other altitude-tolerant plants. The kind of wildlife found here is rabbits, white-tailed deer, and foxes.
Birdlife is very good here, and you will hopefully see the Andean Hillstar, the giant Andean Condor, with its 3 metre wingspan, Orange-faced falcon, Andean seagull (at altitudes over 4000m), some hummingbirds, and carunculated caracaras.
We can advise you on trekking Cotopaxi, or simply enjoying the magnificent scenery of the national park. See links to your left for accommodation near Cotopaxi, or contact one of our Ecuador specialists for specific advice.
