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This beautiful “City of Bridges,” holds big legends and is the cradle of invaluable natural and cultural treasures. It is home to ancestral traditions and an exquisite gastronomy. In this district that has been constructed with colonial and Spanish architecture, there live hardworking and likable people. When arriving to Latacunga the first mandatory stop its historical center, considered a Cultural Patrimony of Ecuador. The festival is called the festival of “the Black Mother,” in whose folk parade the principal figure is the “Black Mother” or festival leader and is accompanied with a masquerade, musical bands, fireworks, and flowers.
Cotopaxi National Park. The main attraction is the Cotopaxi Volcano that is 5897 meters high. It is the tallest active volcano in the world. There is a great variety of endemic mammal, bird, fauna, and botanical species. This is a much frequented site by tourists from all over the globe.
National Area of Recreation of El Boliche. This is a site of a natural formation that combines biophysical characteristics to create a single plaza enclosed by tress and vegetation. This is an ideal place to camp because of the abundant pine and cypress forest where a variety of birds and mammals live.
Latacunga is a strategic site to visit incomparable natural sites.
Ecological Reserve of the Illinizas. Here you will find truly pleasant landscapes with florid forests and exotic vegetation. You can also find medicinal plants and endemic fauna.
El Salitre. Above a hill there exist the vestiges of an Incan military fortress that in its time controlled the passage of armies and migration into conquered territory.
Pucara Ingaloma. On the top of Ingaloma, there exist the remains of a small Incan fort or watch point. It is present in faint terraces, where there is evidence of domestic occupation during
Ecuadorian Pastocalle Foundation. In the meadows of Illiniza, is the parish of Pastocalle. Various communities belong to this foundation and are capacitated in community tourism.
These communities offer tourists the following attractions:
Natural: The Cotopaxi Volcano, The Illinizas Volcano, The Cunuyacu Waterfall, thermal waters, the Patos Lake and La Aliaga Forest.
Cultural: The live community culture.
Mountain Biking can be done on the skirts of the Cotopaxi, Illinizas, and on the edge of the Quilotoa Lake. Mountain Climbing can be done on the Cotopaxi and Illinizas. . Motorcycling can be done at Latacunga and Salcedo.
Rafting on the current of the Toachi River makes for much adrenalin and adventure.
Rock climbing can be done on the many vertical rock walls on the Cotopaxi, Illinizasm and Quilotoa volcanoes.
Go camping in the meadows and reserve areas of Illinizas, Boliche, and Cotopaxi.
Hike on paths surrounded with flora and fauna that take you to the Cotopaxi and Illinizas volcanoes, El Corazon, and Cerro Azul.
This is an ecologic sanctuary of 36,000 hectares; a special attraction for nature lovers with vegetation typical for the altitude of the Andes and meadows. The outstanding fauna is typical of the moor, is represented mainly by the small deer, wolves, rabbits, and llamas. The avifauna includes outstanding specimens like the condor of the Andes and the hummingbird known as the Ecuadorian Star. You can also find the curiquingue (phalcoboenus), a bird that depending on its form of flight brings good or bad omens to the local communities and is always represented in indigenous celebrations.
Lipiopungo Lake. Its crystalline and frigid waters are surrounded by hills. Here you can observe flocks of llamas and a few other mammal species such as rabbits and deer. You can also observe highflying gulls, giggles, and ducks.
Rumiñahui Volcano. Rumiñahui is quichua name that in Spanish means face of stone to honor the last Indian general who was the uncle of Atahualpa. According to tradition he was in charge of hiding the immense treasures of his nation for ever. In this area you can find the curiquingue and condors in its rocks and crags.
Cotopaxi Volcano. Cotopaxi is the second highest elevation in Ecuador and the highest active volcano in the world with perpetual snow and truncated cone shape. The ascent to the summit requires specialized equipment, although the difficulty level is low.
Illinizas Volcano. It is a rocky mountain that is fun to scale that stops your heart beat with the challenging walls of the North Illiniza. The Illiniza South is a peak full of crevices and is perhaps the most challenging scale in Ecuador.
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