Lake San Pablo

San Pablo is the largest lake in Imbabura, a sheet of water directly under the volcano whose reflection it carries on still mornings, ringed by Kichwa communities whose fields run to the shore and whose totora reeds, cut from the beds along the edge, are worked into mats and the occasional reed boat. A paved path and road circle the lake, walked or cycled in a few hours, and the villages along it, Gonzalez Suarez, San Rafael and the rest, are weaving and farming communities with their own festivals. Boats and pedalos operate at the Chicapan end. At Inti Raymi and around the September Fiesta del Yamor the lakeside becomes the region's festival ground.

What you actually see

• Imbabura reflected - the volcano doubled on still mornings.
• Totora reed beds - the harvest worked into mats along the shore.
• The lake circuit - the ring road walked or cycled.
• Yamor and Inti Raymi - the festivals that fill the shore.

When to go

Year round; mornings for the reflection before wind ruffles the water. Half a day for the circuit. September's Yamor festival in Otavalo spills onto the lake.

Honest expectations

The shore is partly built with hosterias and the circuit follows roads in stretches. The water is cold and swimming is not the point. Boat operators at the jetty overcharge; agree first.

Nearby

Otavalo is north-west; Peguche and its fall lie north.