Antisana Volcano Park

We arrived in Quito past midnight and jumped in our hotel shuttle to head to the Hacienda Jimenata nature preserve. It was conveniently about 20 minutes from the airport and our true saving grace was the fact that it was away from central Quito and old town where political protests were rising in intensity. Even still, on our way to the hacienda we were waylaid by flaming blockades across the highways. Our driver was able to find alternate routes and get us safely to the hacienda. It was unsettling to say the least...

We were up bright and early less than 6 hours later to start our tour of Antisana volcano nature reserve. Winding through the roads of Pintag, we passed a huge rock quarry. I learned the Antisana volcano is different from the others I had visited in that the lava didn’t flow down the side or through tubes, it all burst out of the cone into the air. The quarry was about 45 minutes’ drive from Antisana, but the lava solidified in the air and the enormous rock quarry was entirely these materials. Imagine enormous rocks flying kilometres through the air and crashing to the ground! Glad that was thousands of years ago…

Our driver/guide stopped at an unassuming space on the side of the road and directed us to walk down a small staircase through the trees. Below us a small, family run restaurant and farm emerges. We climbed a narrow staircase to a beautiful view of valley depths, tower cliffs and a cascading waterfall. This is where the condors have a nest, our guide informed us. We began scanning the cliffs for large white sections - condor poop on the cliff face. Oh my were we lucky! On the edge of a white patch we saw our first Andean condor! 

Soon the female condor took flight, riding a thermal high into the clouds where it joined its male mate. You can tell the difference between the sexes as the female has a fluffy whit collar below her bald head and neck. They effortlessly  circled in the sky above the cliff, never needing to flap with their 3.5m wingspan. 

 

Catching movement lower down in the valley, we spotted two large, brown birds - the condor babies! They remain a light brown colour for years before their black adult plumage comes in. In fact, we learned the young are dependent on their parents for at least 6 years before they take off on their own!

While watching the condor action, the hummingbirds were in full feeding mode around us. I counted at least three varieties: golden, sapphire, and giant hummingbirds. They are very uncooperative for photos though, always sipping around and picking fights and flying impossibly fast and improbably dexterously. 

Great Hummingbird - the largest of the hummingbirds

Great Hummingbird peeping a fearsome war squeak

Hopping back in the car, we were treated to the sight of Antisana volcano in the distance. Our destination was not the volcano itself as it’s a dangerous and difficult climb reserved for those with the proper equipment and training. Plus, we were already at about 3,800m elevation. The thin air made my fingers tingle and my heart work overtime. Strenuous rock climbing was not on the menu. 

Antisana volcano in cloud cover

 

We entered the nature reserve on the lookout for rabbits, foxes, deer, raptors, condors, wild horses and more. The day did not disappoint! What luck! The deer, which are normally road and people shy, had settled on a patch of spongy moss right alongside the road.

There were Cara Cara birds hunting insects all along the road, strutting with their bright orange legs, fluffy white pantaloons and striking orange faces. 

The tiny rabbits had smaller, rounder ears than our feral rabbits or jackrabbits in Canada. They were peacefully minding their business munching on grass and running from crazy ladies with cameras at the lake parking area. 

The somewhat wild horses were also munching on grass and relaxing by the lake. There were two llamas among them, but in an inaccessible area. Which was disappointing because I’m the llama whisperer and we love each other!

At the Laguna la Mica, we had the chance to hike up a hill to a lookout point. It’s amazing how much the altitude can tax you. Going at a glacial pace and taking tiny steps, progress was slow and difficult. But we did it! We made it from 3,925m up to about 4,300m to see Antisana, Cotopaxi and I think Cayambe volcanoes.

Antisana volcano

Cotopaxi volcano

As we climbed, we were treated to a display of four more condors circling and scouring the valley below. Our guide said he’d never seen so many condors in a day. I was pretty sure they knew we were about to kick the bucket after the climb and were looking forward to fresh corpses for dinner. 

Birds are very uncooperative about having their photo taken. I mostly have photos of bird blurs or bird butts. 

We stopped for a delicious, authentically local lunch at the same family run restaurant we patronized in the way up. We had a plate of corn, beans, roots and fresh cheese followed by Locro soup - a cheesy, potato and avocado bowl of deliciousness - fresh trout from the stream below and fresh figs stewed in caramelized sugar.

Later that evening, we descended a pre-Incan tunnel system. It was long lost until a lost dog popped out of one end of the tunnel. Researchers began excavating to uncover the tunnels and artifacts. We were told the tunnels were used for transporting food and goods. Why tunnels? I didn’t really get a satisfactory answer, but my guess would be because they’re dry and temperature controlled. The guide mentioned using tunnels under large river crossings too.