Travelling in Ecuador: Chimborazo

Chimborazo is the highest volcano in Ecuador. A giant in the Andes, located in the province of the same name, called after the mountain. It's said that is the "nearest point to the Sun" (if you want to know why, click here).  A beautiful and majestic place to visit, with a protected area, The Chimborazo Reserve of Fauna Production,  that surrounds the volcano where you can find tons of animals, such as llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, curiquingues, condors, the Ecuadorian hillstar hummingbird, wilderness wolf, white tail deer, and many other beautiful animals. There's also a very particular flower called "chuquiragua" that grows in heights above 3000 meters above sea level. For more information, click here.

Something curious about the vicuña is that the specie got extincted in the country during the Spanish conquering. In 1988, 200 vicuñas were donated, 100 from Peru and 100 from Chile, and the Chimborazo's moorland was considered the best place for the reintroduction of the specie, due to its ideal ecological conditions. In 1993, Bolivia donated other 73 vicuñas. In 2012, an investigation confirmed that now 4824 vicuñas live in the reserve.

There's also two tours by train called "The Ice Train I" (Riobamba-Urbina-Riobamba) and "The Ice Train II" (Ambato-Urbina-Ambato), and if you want to know more about it, here's the information.

Chimborazo Volcano

Chimborazo Volcano

A vicuña on the slopes of the volcano

Vicuñas running

We (my husband, my stepson and I) visited the volcano two years ago. You need to go through a really pretty town called Calpi, with a very nice church, to get to the mountain reserve.

 Side view of the church, in Calpi.

Admission is for free, but you need to register your entrance. It was a pretty sunny day, partly clouded, but it wasn't particularly cold, actually, it was quiet hot but, as we were approaching to the slopes of the mountain, it got colder and colder. When we finally got to the first camp, we felt the cold influence of the volcano glacier. My recommendation is to wear warm clothes, and comfortable shoes, because if you want to go to the second camp (located at 5000 meters over sea level), you will have to walk about 300 meters, climbing up the mountain, so you need. Breathing turns hard at that height, so you should go slowly, keeping a calm pace, and better be prepared with a good physical condition. While we were climbing uphill, it started snowing, just a little; it was amazing. A man there told us that children under 12 shouldn't go there, due to the lack of oxygen, they could pass out or even die. We had a lot of fun trying to reach the second camp, and when we finally did, we had a cup of hot chocolate and cookies; we felt incredible. Of course, you can climb and reach the top of the mountain, if you are an experienced climber. The first person who reached the top of the Chimborazo was Edward Whymper, on January 4th, 1880.

 We were getting closer (if you look closely, you can see the roof of the camp)

 A baby vicuña and it's mamma

The snow-capped volcano has an ice mine, place where ice is taken for ice-cream production. This activity has been practiced for centuries, but nowadays, there's just one person who does it.

Chimborazo is an imposing spectacle and a representation of our country and that is why you can find it in the Ecuadorian national shield.

If you want to stay in luxurious place, where you can delight with the view of the beautiful snow-capped volcano, you can go to "La Andaluza" Inn. This historical ranch goes back in time, when it was called Chuquipogio Ranch. It's a beatiful inn, filled with antiques, a restaurant where you can enjoy the best Ecuadorian and international cuisine. If you want information about this place, you can call these numbers +593 3294 9370 and +593 3294 9375. Or just click here.

On the way to Riobamba (capital city of the province of Chimborazo), you can see the antique church "María Natividad de Balbanera", founded on August 15, 1534. I thought it was important to include this here because it's the oldest church in the country and you can find it before Colta.

María Natividad de Balbanera church