Laguna Yahuarcocha

Yahuarcocha means lake of blood in Kichwa: chronicles record that after defeating the Caranqui around 1500, Huayna Capac had thousands of defeated warriors executed on its shore, colouring the water, a name and story the region has kept for five centuries. The modern lake wears a different character: a motor racing circuit built in the 1970s rings the water and hosted international racing, and its ten-kilometre loop is now the recreation ground of Ibarra, walked, cycled and skated at weekends, with boat rides, fried-tilapia stands and totora reeds along the shore. Grebes and other waterbirds use the reed beds. The lake is eutrophic and green in warm spells, a known problem being worked on.

What you actually see

• The massacre name - five centuries of memory in the word Yahuarcocha.
• The racing circuit ring - the 1970s track around the water.
• Weekend lakeside life - tilapia stands, boats and the loop crowd.
• Reed beds and grebes - the birdlife along the totora fringe.

When to go

Year round; weekends for the lakeside bustle, weekdays for quiet. Half a day. Mornings are calmer for cycling the loop before traffic.

Honest expectations

The water is often green with algae and swimming is unwise. Weekend crowds and vehicles share the loop. The setting is scenic but the shore is heavily built at the town end.

Nearby

Ibarra is beside it; the road north runs to El Angel and Tulcan.