Ecuador Por Mis Ojos
Recently, the Instituto Geografico Militar of Ecuador and I released a book of photography, Ecuador Por Mis Ojos. This post shares photos from that book.
It is impossible to truly know a place in only 9 photos, but I hope my choices encourage you to visit the province and discover Cotopaxi Province for yourselves.
Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador
The Cotopaxi Province of Ecuador is home to many of the iconic places that tourists, both international and Ecuadorian, know and love. We have visited many of the locations multiple times and each destination deserves a book of its own.
Perhaps the most famous location is Cotopaxi National Park with the emblematic volcano of the same name. This now active volcano can be seen for miles around and the plumes of vapor that trickle from its crater are a constant reminder of how life along the Ring of Fire is both fragile and resilient.
Other high mountains are a part of the province, including the twin Illinizas and the huge Quilotoa Crater with its brilliant turquoise blue lake to the west.
The rich soil of small family farms is evident along every mountainside. There are patchwork fields of golden yellow flowers, fresh green wheat, and freshly turned dirt of dark espresso brown. The fields are still worked by hand and a drive through the countryside proves free-range pigs and chickens are the norm in this part of the country.
And these photos only scratch the surface. Cotopaxi is rich in culture and in people and deserves to be visited multiple times.
Photos of Cotopaxi Province
Click on any photo to begin a slideshow that includes descriptions that will better explain the where, when, why, and how of each one.
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- Cotopaxi is the second highest volcano in Ecuador.
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- Farms line the backroads that lead into the Illinizas Ecological Reserve.
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- The Cotopaxi Volcano, in yellow alert. Note the faint vapor cloud rising from the crater rim and drifting to the left.
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- Hiking on the Cotopaxi Glacier, pre-eruption.
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- The Cotopaxi Volcano in August, 2015
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- Hiking the Crater Rim around Quilotoa is not for the faint of heart.
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- A Close-Up View of the Crater Lake, Quilotoa
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- A Cat sits on the doorstop of a small farmhouse in Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador.
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- The Illinizas as seen from the road from Chugchilán to the Quilatoa Crater.
Other Ecuadorian Provinces Published in This Series
Chimborazo Province
