ECUADOR SERIES: DRIVING ON THE AVENUE OF VOLCANOES

in #travel6 years ago

One way to get from the Northern area of Ecuador to the Southern province of Azuay, to Cuenca, is to go through the Andes and cross the magnificent Valley of Volcanoes.


Cotopaxi volcano seen from the Pan Americana Highway

They don't call it valley of volcanoes for no reason! It's the Ecuadorian spine of the Andes.


Andean plateau at over 4000 m altitude

The Pan-American Highway runs from North to South cutting through the cordilleras, crossing farmland and fields beneath the dormant and active volcanoes.


Cotopaxi volcano

Ecuador is one of the few places in the world where you can enjoy orchids and palm trees while gazing at the glaciers and snow on the mountains above. You can find different ecological zones from subtropical to alpine.


Cotopaxi volcano

Driving down South on the Pan-Americana Highway we were welcomed by the Cotopaxi volcano,(5,897 meters/19,350ft), the second-highest peak in the country and one of the world's most active volcanoes. We have seen its snow-caped cone from far and got enchanted by its majestic sight.


Cotopaxi volcano

A bit more South, we laid our eyes on the mighty Chimborazo, the highest peak in Ecuador, only ‎6,263.47 m (20,549.4 ft)!!! Its height make sit visible from three provinces (Chimborazo, Bolívar and Tungurahua).


Chimborazo volcano seen from the Pan Americana Highway

The area surrounding the mountain has been declared a fauna reserve. It's a great place to do some high-altitude hiking, enjoy the stunning views, learn more about the way the indigenous people live and see some adorable llamas (vicuña or alpaca).


Llama

Thank you for coming along on this trip!


Here are other travel related posts:

PANAMA SERIES: FROM BOQUETE TO VOLCAN

PANAMA SERIES: HACIENDA LOS MOLINOS

PLACE DES ARTS, MONTREAL

OTTAWA DAY TRIP

PANAMA SERIES: PANAMA CITY’S SKYLINE AT NIGHT

PANAMA SERIES: THE GRINGO PRICE

PANAMA SERIES: STREET ART

PANAMA SERIES: TEN FACTS OR MORE ABOUT BOQUETE, PANAMA

PANAMA SERIES: BOQUETE’S FLOWERS AND COFFEE FESTIVAL

PANAMA SERIES: VISITING DAMARLI ESTATE IN BOQUETE

PANAMA SERIES: CARIBBEAN PARADISE - BOCAS DEL TORO

ECUADOR SERIES: QUITO’S OLD TOWN

ECUADOR SERIES: MITAD DEL MUNDO + CABLE CAR RIDE IN QUITO

ECUADOR SERIES: ECUADORIAN WOMEN AND CULTURAL IDENTITY

ECUADOR SERIES: OTAVALO, THE ARTISAN MARKET MECCA

ECUADOR SERIES: COTACACHI, THE CITY BETWEN TWO VOLCANOS

ECUADOR SERIES - DUE DILIGENCE TRIP

ECUADOR SERIES: TIPS FOR TRAVELLING TO ECUADOR

HIKING IN MONT-ROYAL PARK, MONTREAL

ZUMMER FUN BUS RIDE IN CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

F-MR STATION IN MONTREAL

THE STONEHENGE OF ROMANIA: SARMIZEGETUSA REGIA

LAURENTIANS MOUNTAINS: COTTAGE TRIP AT LAKE CACHÉE

OTTAWA LIGHTS SHOW ON PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS

HIKING AT DANUBE’S GORGES, ORSOVA, ROMANIA

DECEBALUS CARVED STATUE, ROMANIA

TRIP TO CALGARY, ALBERTA

BALCHIK, A BULGARIAN GEM

PIRATES TREASURE PLAYGROUND, CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

DOLPHINARIUM 2, CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

DOLPHINARIUM 1, CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

GONDOLA RIDE IN MAMAIA RESORT, ROMANIA

CONSTANTA’S MARINA, ROMANIA

BEACH DAY IN CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

BUBBLES - INDOOR PLAYGROUND IN CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

BAHIA DE PAQUERA, NICOYA GULF, COSTA RICA

EXPLORING AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

MACKINAC BRIDGE, MICHIGAN, USA

CHASED BY TORNADOS IN MINNESOTA

MINNEHAHA FALLS REGIONAL PARK, A GEM IN BETWEEN THE TWIN CITIES

BANFF, A RESORT TOWN INSIDE THE BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA, CANADA

OLD PORT OF CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

ENISALA FORTRESS, ROMANIA

MORAINE LAKE, A SURREAL BEAUTY IN ALBERTA, CANADA

TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE A LIVING WHILE TRAVELLING THE WORLD

FEELING UNINSPIRED? VISIT A WELSH RETREAT: GLADSTONE’S RESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

TURDA’S 400 FEET UNDERGROUND AMUSEMENT PARK, A HIDDEN GEM OF TRANSYLVANIA, ROMANIA

MEMORIES FROM CANCUN, MEXICO

TOURING MONTREAL CITY, CANADA

VISIT TO SAINT-JOSEPH’S ORATORY IN MONTREAL, CANADA

Unless stated otherwise, all photos used in this posts are taken and owned by myself. If you wish to use any of my images, please contact me!

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave your feedback in the comments, I would love to hear your thoughts!

@2018 LaviPicu aka The Lyme Poet. All rights reserved.

Sort:  

@lymepoet,

Great photos ... I especially like that first one. All the trees, I noticed, are bent on an angle ... windswept?

Quill

Yes, it was a very windy day. Actually in the North is always windy! ;0)

Wow! Stunning landscapes there!
BB <3

The whole country has some amazing landscapes!

Dear @lymepoet,

Thank you for supporting our tag #archisteem. For your information, we are currently running the project – 1001 Places to Remember. Do drop by and take a look :)

Stay tuned and Steem on!

Sincerely from,

@archisteem and team

I remember the vibes I've got when I was so close of a volcano over here in Romania. But still, I don't know how cool would it be to stay close by more than one, lol

It's a thrilling experience! Especially even you see that they are active.

Buna @lymepoet. Witness-ul "nostru" (eu si un coleg argentinian, Pablo) voteaza automat articolele tale.

Cum nu ai aprobat decât 7 witness (din 30), crezi ca ai putea sa ne aprobi si pe noi, @lux-witness ?

Daca esti de acord, gasesti un link direct in toate articolele mele ;-)
Multumesc anticipat

Buna @sorin.cristescu! Multumesc pentru suport! Am votat pentru @lux-witness. O zi frumoasa! ;0)

Mulțumesc! :-)

sigh... I ignored the fact that Ecuador has snow lol

Not a lot, but it does!

Spectacular landscapes so beautiful

The beauty of it is that when you drive there, each three-four hours later you enter a new climate zone where the landscape changes completely.

WOW that must be such a cool experience and drive

Hi @lymepoet!

Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 3.652 which ranks you at #5415 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has not changed in the last three days.

In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 275 contributions, your post is ranked at #91.

Evaluation of your UA score:
  • You're on the right track, try to gather more followers.
  • The readers like your work!
  • Good user engagement!

Feel free to join our @steem-ua Discord server

I love love love the look of Chimborazo! 20,000 feet... could be an interesting one to hike up! Did you try? :D The landscape looks phenomenal, thanks for sharing your adventures :)

I did not but one of my friends went snowboarding there which was a bit extreme for me.

Hi @lymepoet, your post has been upvoted by @bdcommunity and the trail!

If you want to support us, please consider following our curation trail on Steemauto.com or delegating STEEM POWER to us.

20 SP50 SP100 SP200 SP300 SP500 SP1000 SP

JOIN US ON

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.22
TRX 0.20
JST 0.034
BTC 92640.23
ETH 3113.67
USDT 1.00
SBD 3.17