Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve

Pululahua is a caldera about five kilometres across immediately north of the equator monument, and its distinction is that people live in it: the flat floor has been farmed since before the Spanish, with fields, a hamlet and lava domes rising from the patchwork, which makes it one of the few inhabited and cultivated calderas anywhere. The Ventanillas viewpoint on the rim gives the classic look down, and a trail drops about three hundred metres to the floor for those who want to walk among the fields. The caldera brews its own weather: humid air from the coast funnels up and fills it with cloud most afternoons, so mornings are the time. It was declared a reserve in 1966, among the earliest protected areas on the Ecuadorian mainland.

What you actually see

• A farmed caldera floor - fields and a hamlet inside the volcano.
• The Ventanillas rim view - the classic look down from the edge.
• Lava domes in the fields - the volcanic forms rising from the patchwork.
• Afternoon cloud filling the bowl - the caldera's own weather.

When to go

June to September for the driest months, and mornings at any season, since cloud fills the caldera from midday. Half a day with the descent. The trail back up is a steady climb at altitude.

Honest expectations

Arrive after midday and you will likely see the inside of a cloud. The trail down and back is harder than it looks at 2,800 metres. Facilities are minimal. The rim viewpoint can be crowded when tour buses coincide.

Nearby

Mitad del Mundo is south; Quito lies beyond.