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Contact:
Paola Villalba O.
Manager of sales and operations
Quito, Ecuador
Tel: +593/2323-7372
Fax: +593/2223-1806
info@tierradelvolcan.com
ventas@tierradelvolcan.com
www.tierradelvolcan.com
Certificado por:
SmartVoyager, Ecuador (December, 2007)
Type of accommodation:
Bed & breakfast, lodge, inn
Campsite
Home stay / farm stay
Features:
Conference rooms
Hot water
Kitchen
Laundry facilities
Private bathroom
Restaurant
Telephone
Others: Sitting rooms, cafeteria service, game room, parking lot, local guides.
Number of rooms: 18.
Year founded: 1999.
Number of employees: 20.
Percent of employees who are local residents: 76%.
Type of destination:
Farm, ranch (rural)
Historic site
Indigenous community
Mountain
River, lake, wetland
Able to accommodate:
Families
Seniors
Singles
Singles with children
Volunteers (to work in your establishment)
Description of the area:
Tierra del Volcán is dedicated to ecotourism and adventure tourism in the buffer zone of Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador and its area of influence. We are in the sector that has been known since ancient times as Las Cuatro Esquinas ("the Four Corners") for the four volcanoes that surround majestic Cotopaxi: Rumiñahui at 4,712 meters (15,460 feet) above sea level, Pasochoa at 4,200 masl (13,780 feet asl), Sincholagua at 4,893 masl (16,053 feet asl), and Quilindaña at 4,878 masl (16003 feet asl).
We have three traditional haciendas: Hacienda El Porvenir on the foothills of Rumiñahui Volcano is our center of operations; Hacienda El Tambo Quilindaña, on the foothills of Quilindaña Volcano was declared a protected forest in 1992; and Hacienda Santa Rita Private Ecological Reserve on the foothills of Pasochoa Volcano. Each one has its own magical feeling and distinct climate and ecosystem.
Thanks to its strategic location, Tierra del Volcán offers a variety of unbeatable possibilities for the visitor, such as: horseback-riding local cowboy style (Chagra) while sharing their culture, dining by candlelight in our traditional houses, camping in hidden valleys, entering dream-like landscapes on hikes, climbing impressive peaks, participating in farming and ranching, making exciting descents via the sand pits of Cotopaxi on mountain bikes, and more. We also pioneered tours in the spectacular Salto canyon; the Canopy Tour consists of seven cables that go from 540 to 1,200 feet (180 to 400 meters) and a 90 feet (30-meter) high wall.
Available activities:
Adventure, sports
Biking
Bird watching
Canopy exploration
Eco / nature / wildlife
Educational, research, volunteering
Fishing
Horseback riding
Mountain climbing
Tours
Visits to conservation projects
Walking / hiking
How to get there:
How to get to Tierra del Volcán, Hacienda El Porvenir:
Take the Panamerican Highway to the city of Machachi; turn left, go to the Central Park and turn left again; continue straight on for approximately half an hour. Keep following the signs for Cotopaxi National Park, which are green with white letters. You must go past the villages of Güitig Alto and El Pedregal. In El Pedregal, take the gravel road to the right, to the northern control post of the National Park.
It is approximately one and one-half hours from Quito.
Making a difference:
One of the main goals of Tierra del Volcán's main goals is to support conservation and knowledge of the paramo ecosystem, promoting sustainable practices; this is why Tierra del Volcán received Smart Voyager's sustainable tourism certification in December of 2007.
We are part of Fundación Páramo, a non-profit organization that focuses on conservation and ecosystem protection actions in the paramo of the region surrounding Cotopaxi Volcano. Major projects that have been carried out over the last 10 years are the management and control initiatives Cotopaxi National Park buffer zone.
Some of the conservation and sustainable development projects that we support are reforestation, donation of libraries for local schools, ecology club with the local schoolchildren, education to eradicate fires, protection of wetlands, and waste management.
If you want to know more about these projects or if you would like to support our work, write us at mariajose@tierradelvolcan.com.
General rates:
You can obtain information about rates on the Web page.
Additional information:
Sales Guide, 2009. Detailed description of the place, the haciendas, an explanation of how Tierra del Volcán operates, tours, what to expect at the place, and more. This document is also available in Spanish.
Profile of Tierra del Volcan on the Rainforest Alliance Web site.
Date this information was provided: May, 2008.
