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Snowcaps
and Other Mountains of Ecuador
Nevados y Otras Montañas del Ecuador

In the Ecuadorian Andes there is one mountain that rises over twenty thousand feet; twenty-five rise over fifteen thousand feet; and many more over twelve thousand feet. What makes Ecuador the closest to my heart are these mountains. Each snowcap has a name and a personality all its own and they each hold a piece of my heart.

~~~~ ANTISANA ~~~~


This is the snowcap that captured my heart and soul.
The above particular view is seen from the "Termas de Papallacta"
Hot Springs in Papallacta


At 18,710 feet, Antisana's view reaches all the way to Cayambe, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. The weather usually comes from the Amazon Basin and as a consequence, the eastern glaciers are bigger and longer.

~~~~ CAYAMBE ~~~~




Third in height among the country's volcanos, the Equator almost divides Cayambe in two. Thus, Cayambe's snow covered heights are the only place on the surface of the earth where both temperature and latitude reach zero degrees.
Cayambe stands at 18,990 feet.

~~~~ CARIHUAIRAZO / CHIMBORAZO ~~~~


The Carihuairazo summits are 16,460 feet high and are usually covered with ice. The name of the mountain means "Man of Wind and Snow" and it was first climbed in 1880 by Edward Whymper. He was also the first to reach the summit of the largest volcano in Ecuador: Chimborazo.

~~~~ CHIMBORAZO / ILLINIZAS ~~~~


Chimborazo is the highest of all Ecuadorian mountains, standing at 20,700 feet. When measured from the center of the earth, the summit of this extinct volcano is the highest of the planet. Therefore, when standing on the summit of Chimborazo, you will be closer to the sun than on any other place on the surface of the earth.

~~~~ ILINIZAS ~~~~


17,272 feet high, Ilinizas is also known as the "twin mountains" although more often than not the southern peak is covered with more snow than the northern peak. Rising temperatures and diminishing rainfall have caused the glaciers to withdraw significantly over the years.

~~~~ CORAZON ~~~~


Named "Heart" because from certain angles the natural shadows on the mountain form the shape of a heart, Corazon's occasionally snowed summit at 15,700 feet, together with the peaks of Ilinizas, Rumiñahui, Pasochoa and the heights of Tiopullo, close the Machachi valley in a landscape of peculiar volcanism.

~~~~ COTACACHI ~~~~


Maria Isabel Cotacachi is the lady's name as the locals of Otavalo refer to the mountain. It is said that with such a figure there is no doubt of the feminine essence Indian mythology gives her. So much so that Imbabura courts her jealously from the front. Cotacachi is 16,200 feet high.

~~~~ SINCHOLAGUA / COTOPAXI ~~~~


Between Cotopaxi and Antisana rises the stony peak of Sincholagua. Until a few years ago, this mountain had a glacier that the rising temperature has finally melted. Sincholagua is 16,070 feet high.

Among all the Ecuadorian volcanoes, Cotopaxi, at 19,340 feet, is the most important, the most known, and the most visited. Cotopaxi is the world's highest active volcano and it's eruptions in the past have usually come at century intervals...
It is running a bit late for it's next appointment...

~~~~ IMBABURA ~~~~


The great "Apu" to the Incas and "Taita" to the Otavalenos (both words meaning "father"), the Imbabura reflects on the waters of the San Pablo lake. Imbabura is 15,180 feet high.

~~~~ EL ALTAR ~~~~


Baron Von Humboldt heard how, in a remote past, this mountain collapsed to a size smaller than Chimborazo. The outline of its slopes suggests that this really did happen. Its name in Quichua "Capacurcu" means "majestic mountain." El Altar is 17,450 feet high.

~~~~ YANAURCO - LAS BELLAS DE MOJANDA ~~~~


Las Bellas de Mojanda (the beauties of Mojanda) surround a crater that once threw lava and gases and has now become a lake. The highest peak of Las Bellas de Mojanda is called Yanaurco which stands at 14,983 feet.

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Other Ecuadorian Mountains
(no less beautiful but not pictured here)

Achipungo - 15,186 ft - Rising south of Sangay, the heights of Achipungo are a series of non-volcanic peaks with excellent rocks for climbing. Legends tell that criminals were outcast there during pre-hispanic days.

Reventador - 11,431 ft - Within a destroyed cauldron, a new cone arises. Reventador, "The Explosive One" last erupted in 1976.

Zumaco - 12,722 ft - The Spanish conquistadores that discovered the Amazon river while seeking cinnamon, saw this elusive volcano between the canopy and the clouds. Few have reached it's summit; in order to do so, mountaineers need to use a machete rather than an ice axe.

Quilotoa - 13,150 ft - No higher than the arid highlands that surround it, the crater of Quilotoa is a bas-relief. The lake contains many dissolved minerals and carbonic gas, supporting no life.

Puntas - 14,630 ft - There are many points at the edge of the eroded cauldron of this extinguished volcano. Climbers are known to go around the peaks or climb them one after another until they reach the highest.

Quispicacha - 14,884 ft - West of the city of Ambato are several peaks of this region. The surrounding communities are very suspicious of outsiders and will successfully hinder them from passing.

Cerro Hermoso (Llanganates) - 15,210 ft - Cerro Hermoso is the highest point of the Llanganates region. Almost always wrapped in clouds and hidden toward the east, it is seldom seen. Its non-volcanic heights entice many expeditions searching for lost Incan treasure.

Saraurco - 15,340 ft - Not far south of Cayambe, where most of the mountains are volcanic in origin, Saraurco is one of the few exceptions. It is hidden among the broken and foggy grounds of the slopes of the Andes.

Soroche - 15,400 ft - At the feet of Soroche lies a lake where, according to legend, birds commit suicide in September.

Quilimas - 15,450 ft - Cubillin, Quilimas, and Pailacajas form one of the few non-volcanic groups of elevations, in spite of being flanked by two volcanos: Altar to the North; and Sangay to the South.

Chiles - 15,483 ft - Ecuador's northernmost peak in the "Avenue of the Volcanos," Chile's peak is half in Ecuador and half in Colombia.

Rumiñahui - 15,488 ft - It's Quichua name meaning "Stone Face" it is barely separated from Cotopaxi by the Limpiopungo water-mirror, where both reflect.

Guagua Pichincha - 15,691 ft - Ecuador's capital city of Quito, dubbed the "Jewel of the Andes" nestles in the skirts of Guagua Pichincha. Downtown Quito is only twelve miles from the rise toward the crater.

Quilindaña - 16,000 ft - Quilindaña rises Southeast of Cotopaxi, sometimes capped in snow, other times not.

Tungurahua - 16,450 ft - Young volcanos are usually cone shaped. Under activity, lava and ashes build more than what glaciers and wind can destroy. The last time that Tungurahua erupted was at the beginning of the century.

Sangay - 17,150 ft - Noted for being the most active volcano, as well as being meridianal, Sangay used to erupt every ten minutes. After the March 1987 earthquake it's activities have slowed to only twice an hour.

Cajas - 13,431 ft - Ten thousand years ago, the Andean glaciers moved down to ten thousand feet above sea level. Heritage of those times are the series of lakes scattered in the highlands. In the heights of Cajas, near the city of Cuenca, there are a great many of these glacier-created lakes.

Pululahua - 10,650 ft - North of Quito, Pululahua is a temporarily sleeping crater. Inside the crater, about 100 farmers cultivate corn.

Pasochoa - 13,770 ft - A low altitude volcano, it's cauldron is covered with one of the last Andean forests. These forests are the remains of the vegetation that covered most of the Andean valleys when the Spanish conquistadores arrived.


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Numerous other mountains and ranges have names and histories of their own.
They surround and protect Andean cities and towns,
creating in Ecuador a landscape that will not soon be forgotten.

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