Cochasqui Pyramids

Cochasqui is the most important pre-Inca site in northern Ecuador: fifteen flat-topped pyramids of earth and cangahua block, nine of them with long ramps, built by the Quitu-Cara people between about 950 and 1550 AD on a plateau at three thousand metres with a clear sweep of horizon, which supports the standard interpretation of the platforms as ceremonial and astronomical, with excavated circular features read as calendars. Burial mounds are scattered among them. The pyramids read as grassed hills until the guide points out the geometry, and the guided visit, included in the ticket, is what makes the site legible. On clear days the view runs from Cayambe to Cotopaxi, which was likely part of the point.

What you actually see

• Nine ramped pyramids - earth platforms with their long approaches.
• The claimed calendar circles - excavated features on the summits.
• Burial mounds among them - the tolas scattered across the plateau.
• A volcano horizon - Cayambe to Cotopaxi on clear days.

When to go

June to September for clearer skies; mornings before cloud builds. Half a day. Visits are guided on set rounds. The plateau is cold and windy at any season.

Honest expectations

The pyramids are unexcavated and grassed over, so they read as landforms rather than monuments; expectations shaped by Mexico will be disappointed. Guides are Spanish-speaking mostly. Interpretation mixes evidence and speculation.

Nearby

Tabacundo is below; Otavalo lies north.