Cuicocha Lagoon

Cuicocha fills the caldera of a volcano at around 3,000 metres, an intense blue lake with two lava-dome islands in the middle covered in vegetation. The name comes from Kichwa and is usually translated as guinea pig lake, after the shape of the larger island. A trail runs the full rim in roughly five hours, climbing to viewpoints where the lake sits below on one side and the Andes stretch away on the other, with Cotacachi and, on clear days, Cayambe and Imbabura visible. Boats circle the islands and pass places where gas bubbles rise through the water from the volcano beneath. The lake sits inside the Cotacachi-Cayapas reserve, which runs from these high páramo grasslands down into Chocó rainforest.

What you actually see

• The rim trail - a five-hour circuit with continuously changing views over the lake and Andes.
• Boat trip to the islands - circling the lava domes past bubbling gas vents.
• Cotacachi town - the leather-working town below, with workshops along the main street.
• Andean páramo - high grassland and cushion plants along the upper trail.

When to go

June to September and December to January are driest. Mornings are clearest by a wide margin; cloud typically builds over the crater in the afternoon. It is cold and windy on the rim even in sunshine.

Honest expectations

The rim walk is at 3,000 metres and higher, with real ascent, and it is much harder than the distance suggests if you have not acclimatised. There is no shade and the weather turns fast, so carry layers and rain gear. The counterclockwise direction gets the steep climbing done early. Boats do not run in high wind.

Nearby

Otavalo's market is half an hour away; the Intag valley drops west into cloud forest.