Los Ilinizas Ecological Reserve

The Ilinizas are twin volcanic peaks split by erosion into two summits about a kilometre apart: Iliniza Norte at 5,126 metres, a scramble on rock and scree that experienced walkers do without technical gear, and Iliniza Sur at 5,248, glaciated and requiring rope, ice axe and a guide. Both are reached from El Chaupi, with a rough track to La Virgen and then a walk up to the Nuevos Horizontes refuge at about 4,700 metres, where climbers overnight before an early start. The wider reserve stretches west into cloud forest and includes the Quilotoa crater within its boundaries. The paramo approach is open, cold and often in cloud, with condors sometimes overhead.

The landscape

• Two summits from one volcano - a walk-up and a technical climb side by side.
• The refuge at 4,700 metres - the base for both peaks.
• Open paramo approach - the walk in from La Virgen.
• Quilotoa inside the reserve - the crater lake within the same boundary.

When to go

June to September for the driest window. Two days with a refuge night. Iliniza Norte still involves exposed scrambling; Sur needs a guide and glacier equipment.

Practical notes

Iliniza Norte is often underestimated: it has loose rock, exposure and real altitude, and people get into trouble on it. Sur is a serious mountaineering objective with retreating, broken ice. The refuge is basic and cold.

Nearby

Machachi is north-east; Quilotoa lies west in the same reserve.

Key facts