Cotopaxi National Park

One Of The Highest Active Volcanoes In The World, With A Near Perfect Glaciated Cone, In Parque Nacional Cotopaxi (1975). Day Visits Reach The Jose Rivas Refuge Parking At About 4,500 M And The Limpiopungo Lagoon, While Climbing The Summit Needs A Guide. Activity Can Close Access. · Latacunga, Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi National Park surrounds one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, a near-perfect snow-capped cone that rises to 5,897 m in the Andes, about 60 km south of Quito. The park spreads across high grass paramo, pine plantations and ash fields, with the Limpiopungo lagoon at about 3,800 m and a car park near the Jose Rivas refuge at about 4,500 m. Wild horses, llamas and, rarely, Andean condors share the plains. Day visitors can drive up, walk the final ash slope to the refuge and look up at the glacier. The honest picture is that cloud often hides the cone, the wind is cold, the air is thin and the park has been closed or restricted at times because of volcanic activity since the 2015 eruption. Check the status before you go, spend two days in Quito first to adjust to altitude, and go early in the morning, when views are clearest. Climbing the summit needs a registered guide and real fitness. Bring warm clothes, sunscreen, water and cash in small bills, because little is sold inside the park and cards rarely work there.

High-Andean park about 60 km south of Quito, entered from the Pan-American Highway, with the symmetrical snow-capped cone of Cotopaxi at 5,897 m and the Limpiopungo lagoon, Latacunga, Cotopaxi, Ecuador

The park is normally open in daylight hours every day, and closes at dusk, with the gate and ranger post checking vehicles in the morning. Areas can be CLOSED without notice for volcanic activity, bad weather or maintenance, so check the current status with the Ministry of Environment and IGEPN before you go. If the refuge is closed, you may only see the volcano from afar. Entry has been free for some visitors in the past; confirm the current fee.

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