Cotopaxi National Park
The Cotopaxi National Park is a 32,000-hectare park, easily accessible (one hour and thirty minutes by car) from Quito on a day tour. The park itself is the second most visited national park in Ecuador after the Galapagos Islands.
The Cotopaxi Volcano is truly an amazing site. Its perfect cone shape and ever-present glacier skirt allow it to be seen from many provinces but there is nothing like seeing its majesty up close. The Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in the world. It recently (back in 2015) became active and had small eruptions. Because of this the national park remained closed to visitors for about a year. It’s now fully open and if you would like to climb to the summit let us know and we can help with that.
There are many legends regarding the volcano’s name. Some say it refers to “Cuello de luna” which translates to “neck of the moon”. During certain full moons, you can see the moon align perfectly with the cone-shaped volcano resembling the moon’s neck. Others say the name means quite the opposite “Neck of the sun”.
The park itself has plenty to offer visitors.
You can visit the Limpiopungo Lake with its awe-inspiring paramo treks and fascinating wildlife including llamas, wild horses, fox, deer, the elusive spectacled bear, and Andean condor.
And you can hike up to the refuge and glacier and take in the beautiful landscapes from above.
**Other activities include biking down the mountain to the lake or horseback riding around the national park. If you would like to take part in such activities you can contact us and we can schedule a private tour of the Cotopaxi National Park.