Ecuador Eco Volunteer

Finally I’ve had the time to write a detailed description of our recent expedition into and around the exploded volcano El Altar. Our expedition consisted of a french couple Aldrin the Journalist and Olivia the biologist, Givinchy the medical student from San Francisco, a biology teacher from Holland called Jasper, myself, and two other guides Franklin and Romero who together have over 60 years of experience trekking and mountain climbing in the Ecuadorian Andes.

We left the Riobamba Guesthouse at 9:30 in the morning an hour and an half behind schedule because the truck we organized to take us to the entrance of Parque Nacional Sangay didn’t show and so we had to frantically call a few other companies until we found a van to take our crew. At 11am we arrived at the par entrance and hired a mule off an indigenous farmer who lived nearby to help carry our heavy equipment on the first leg of the journey. We strapped our packs to the back of the mule and set off up the muddy hill and it soon became apparent that the farmer was incredibly drunk after offering Givinchy a swig of what looked like water but turned out to be Aguardiente.

Because we were delayed in the morning we decided to camp beside the river rather than risk climbing up the mountain and arriving at the previously intended campsite in the darkness of night. Our decision was rewarded when a sun shower produced a beautiful rainbow that arched over our campsite.

To our dismay we arrive in one of the most remote areas in the entire Andes mountain range and there were bits of strewn rubbish around the campsite like styrophone plates (there was even a sanitary pad???!). Now you might be thinking: if El Altar is so remote then why did you find rubbish there? Well to put it into perspective if the people who left those polystyrene plates did so 10 years ago, 100 years ago, or even 10,000 years ago and beyond they would still be there and they will continue to be there until someone takes the brave initiative to clean up the other persons mess. In alignment with Ecuador Eco Adventures religious adherence to the Campers Code: “Leave the place cleaner than when you found it” we cleaned up everything (some of the ‘untouchable’ stuff with a stick) to keep the campsite beautiful and clear for the next band of trekkers (who will probably be ecuador eco adventure again;)

The next morning we woke at 5am and ate hot Cinnamon tea with Chocolate and Bread. Romero, Franklin, and I discussed leaving the campsite where it was beside the river and climbing the mountain without backpacks to increase our speed. I could see the reasoning behind it, that day we would have to trek up to 4,500 metres above sea level and even the slightest weight would slow us down to a crawl but i was worried about leaving our stuff in broad daylight where it may be robbed.

Then Romero reminded me that we were in a place where people rarely ever step foot and the chance of someone stumbling upon our stuff was incredibly minuscule at most and so we decided to leave the campsite as it was. We then spent the next three hours trekking through long grass and heavy mud with Ecuadors largest mountain Chimborazo at our backs until the jagged peaks of El Altar loomed above us shining bright in the days first rays of sunlight.

At 10am we reached what is known as ‘The Gate’ a ridge that separates the grassy plain from the stark and prehistoric land that the early European explorers called ‘The Lost World’ and while I had already been there twice three years before never had i looked down into that great canyon and beyond while it was so clear without any clouds and mist obscuring the sight. Rather than try and explain what we saw in words ill post a few pictures instead:

From the gate we climbed up to Campo Italiano, named so because the first people to discover the place were early Italian Explorers, and from there we saw Mt Sangay, Ecuadors most active volcano, erupting in the distance.

and in front of us towered the jagged peaks of El Altar and below were the various multicoloured lagoons fed by the waterfalls that flowed from the glaciers clinging to the mountain, one of the most beautiful sights i have witnessed in my life…

If you would like to trek to El Altar check out this page here and experienced climbers can organise a guide here:

Related posts:

1. A Small World
2. Trekking Expedition into El Altar