Travel Guide Réserve Écologique Cotacachí-Cayapas

13 km from Cotacachí. Located in the Andes, the ecological reserve Cotacachí-Cayapas created in 1974, offers a natural and protected space of more than 304 429 hectares in the province of Imbabura, 140 km from Quito. Reserve altitude varies from 300 to 4 939 m offering a variety of landscapes and surprising ecosystems. The reserve houses more than 20 000 species of plants and over 300 species of birds. Wildlife is varied and diverse vegetation is diverse. A way to do, you can cross a familiar bear, a condor or a lazy man. The Cuichoca Lagoon, one of the main attractions of the reserve is just minutes away from Cotacachí. It was created 3 000 years ago following a volcanic eruption forming the lagoon and two islands. It stretches over about 9 km 2 in one of the craters of the Cotacachí volcano, at more than 3 000 m altitude. The reserve has many landscapes from the lagoon to the wet forest through the torrentueuses rivers.