ROUTE 1: "LAGUNA DEL MOJANDA" We will travel along winding roads surrounded by typical Andean vegetation and quaint white houses built with "tapia" (pressed mud), with roofs of straw and local roof tiles. From our vantage point on horseback, we will experience the tranquillity of rural life of the Equatorial Sierra, under the curious yet friendly gaze of the local people. We will reach the foot of the mount Fuya Fuya by traversing green fields and fragrant eucalyptus woods, leaving behind the great valley of Cayambe. After approximately 5 hours of horseback riding, we will begin to see the pajonales, the typical scrub vegetation of the paramo - those grasslands lying above 19,498 ft. (3,200m) in altitude. The experience is that of moving through a panorama of magical silences and spectacular beauty, slowly unfolding as if by some wonderful enchantment. 984 ft. (300m) further down, in the extinct volcanic crater, Laguna Grande awaits, peaceful and still throughout the centuries, alongside the smaller Laguna Negra. Much as the ancients of the Andes did, we will enjoy dinner by the roaring fire as we contemplate the sun setting behind the mountains surrounding the lake. With a bit of luck, we will catch glimpses of the wild rabbit (sylvilagus brasillensis), the "paramo" wolf (dusicyon culpaeus), and the "paramo" gull (larus serranus). All characteristic of the local fauna. On the road back we will visit average-size Laguna Chiquita, between Laguna Grande and Laguna Negra, surrounded by fields where wild horses graze. Gazing off to the south on a clear day, riders will admire four glacial giants forming the famed "Avenida de los Volcanes": the unmistakable, cone-shaped Mount Cotopaxi (19,327 ft. 5,891m), the world's tallest active volcano, majestic Mount Antisana (18,713ft, 5,704 m), Mount Illinizas (17,267ft, 5,263 m), and Mount Cayambe. ROUTE 2: "LAGUNA SAN MARCOS" We will take the old path at Ibarra, a quaint stone road that winds among a green canopy of pastures and cornfields. We will travel through the village of Ayora, animated by the voices of the young native children, descendants of the ancient populations who first inhabited the area. These people continue to preserve their traditional ways, wearing richly hand-embroidered clothes and shoes called "alpargatas" which reproduce the bright colors and different forms of nature. We will then reach Olmedo, a rural village where all roads of the valley converge and where we will meet the road that will lead us to Laguna San Marcos, formed by the melting glaciers of Mount Cayambe. This affords a perfect place to observe the rich flora and fauna of the Andean "paramo" and to set-up camp under the watchful eye of the glacier and the starlit canopy of the Equatorial sky. Precisely along the snow-capped peak of Mount Cayambe is the line separating the Northern and Southern hemispheres. jones at El Angel ecological reserve ROUTE 3: ECOLOGICAL RESERVE "EL ANGEL" We will reach this location by motorized 4x4 vehicle. This ecological reserve, geologically speaking, is an immense "paramo" (high-altitude grassland) peppered with volcanic lakes, and extending throughout the entire central part of the province of Carchi, at the altitude of 13,123ft (4,000m). Its fertile canopy of humus, formed by volcanic ash, reaches a depth of 80cm. Vegetation unique to the area include frailejones (espeletia hartwegiana). Fog-shrouded forests of this cactus-like plant are found throughout most of the reserve. Exotic, rare fauna include pudu (pudu mephistophiles), the smallest deer in the world, the wolf of the páramo (dusicyon culpaeus), the stinking fox (conepatus chinga), the parámo rabbit (sylvilagus brasilliensis) and others. This reserve is also a paradise for birdwatchers, and is home to such exotic birds as the quillico (falco sparverius), the hawk (buteo polyosoma), the curiquinge (phalcoboenus carunculatus), the partridge of the páramo (nothopracta curvirrostris), the torcaza (columba fasciata), and others. These species form the delicate ecological equilibrium of this region, one of the most humid in Ecuador. Its vast system of lakes called El Voladero is also home to abundant trout.