Intag Valley

The Intag valley drops westward from the Cotacachi paramo into subtropical cloud forest, a remote farming country of scattered villages, coffee plots and forest remnants that has become known for two things: community ecological reserves and lodges built around them, and a decades-long resistance by its communities to copper mining concessions, which has made Intag a name in Latin American environmental politics and remains unresolved. For a visitor it offers cloud forest walking, a strong community tourism network with homestays, small thermal pools at Nangulvi, coffee farms that receive guests, and craft groups working with cabuya fibre. Getting there is a slow winding road, which is why it stays quiet.

What you actually see

• Community forest reserves - the locally run protected patches.
• Nangulvi thermal pools - the valley's hot springs on the river.
• Coffee farms receiving visitors - the valley's crop shown and sold.
• The anti-mining story - the communities' long unresolved fight.

When to go

June to September for drier trails. Two days, given the journey. Buses from Otavalo are slow; a car helps. Homestays and lodges are booked through the community network.

Honest expectations

The road is long, winding and slow, and landslides interrupt it in the wet season. Facilities are simple. The mining conflict is live and locals' views deserve respect rather than tourism. Rain comes at any season.

Nearby

Cotacachi and Cuicocha are over the ridge; Otavalo lies east.