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Summiting Antisana Volcano in Ecuador: What You Can Expect

Thinking about summiting a volcano in Ecuador? In this post, you’ll learn about Antisana Volcano – Ecuador’s 4th highest volcano at 5,704 metres. Antisana Volcano is located 50 km southeast of Quito.

Antisana Volcano Ecuador

This is a post by Eran Hayoun of Gulliver Expeditions in Quito, Ecuador. See full bio at end of the post.

What brings people from many parts of the world to Ecuador?

Why do they choose to leave their home countries and visit Ecuador – a small country with a population of 16.4 million people?

Antisana Volcano summit
In some cases, expats choose to immigrate to Ecuador because of the warm climate all year around. Others choose to because of the cheap medical services.

And a few mention their main reason to immigrate is the diversity of the country and the open-minded people.
In my case, the reason was love.

To be honest it was not just one … but several.

Summiting Ecuador’s Antisana Volcano

The first one I want to write about may be the most beautiful girl in Ecuador. She is high, has a crown, and is very hard to get. Many men from all over the world have fallen in love and tried to conquer her.

The first man that succeeded was a 40 years old English man named Edward Whymper in 1880.

Antisana is a majestic huge active, snow-capped stratovolcano with an altitude of 5,704 m. It is the 4th highest volcano in Ecuador and has 3 summits.

The last big eruption registered was in 1802. It stands in the middle of the northern Andean range and is surrounded by the volcanoes of Sincholagua, Cotopaxi, Cayambe, and a beautiful cloud forest reserve.

From the top, you can observe the Mica & Limpiopungo lagoons, Quito, and most of the other giant volcanoes in the country.

It is considered one of the most technical climbs in the country and requires, glacier experience, acclimatization to low oxygen, and preparation to challenging physical conditions.

Snowcapped Antisana Volcano
Climbing Antisana Volcano
Antisana Volcano in Ecuador

Getting to Antisana Volcano

The Antisana Reserve is about 65 km southeast of Quito.

To access the reserve, you need to drive 2 hours from Quito to a village called Pintaj and from there it is another 2 hours of driving until you reach the camping area at the altitude of 4500m.

The paramo of Antisana is pure and uncontaminated. Apart from the majestic volcano, you can observe wildlife like condors, rabbits, and wild horses.

view from Antisana volcano in Ecuador
The old lava flow is huge and impressive. It starts from the base of the mountain toward the west to the valley of Sangolqui.

The camping area is without any artificial light and on a clear night, you can observe a magical ocean of stars.

Antisana Volcano in Ecuador
The volcano has a crater, which is covered by snow and ice but still active. Clear evidence of its activity is the thermals of Papallacta and the strong smell of sulfur that exists in all the streams that flow in the park.

From the campsite, it is a long hour hike to the entrance of the glacier. It is a small path over ash and lava stones that pass a small glacier lagoon. The glacier is a maze of crevasses mostly across the big valley direction east to west.

As you climb higher, the bigger and deeper the crevasses are. The most “easy” peak to climb is the northern summit (which is also the highest).

The way to the top is crossing from south to north toward the saddle and then heading another 200 meters of elevation toward the west.

How long does it take to summit Antisana Volcano? The way to the summit takes between 6-8 hours and another 3 hours down.

Aerial view of Antisana Volcano in Ecuador
It was an emotional moment of peace and satisfaction when I reached the summit and saw big white glaciers, green valleys, enormous cloud forest, blue lagoons, and the rest of the exciting topography of the Andes below me.

In order to climb that high, you need to prepare yourself for the acclimatization process and to prepare yourself for long endurance physical activity.

It is also recommended to have a medical check for heart function and use a specific acclimatization diet 3-4 weeks before the climb.

Antisana is one of the wildest free and beautiful spots in Ecuador.

Antisana Volcano climb
There are only a few recommended tour operators in Quito that specialized in this kind of expedition. One of them is Gulliver Expeditions where I have been working for the past 12 years.

I invite everyone who loves adventure and challenges to try to conquer its summit and enjoy the beauty of one of the most untouched reserves in the country.

Aerial Footage Above Antisana Volcano


 
About the Author: Eran Hayoun is a free spirit who spent the last 16 years exploring and making adventure expeditions in Ecuador and South America. Born in Israel and after 6 years of extensive and stressful army service moved to South America to learn about new cultures, and develop sustainable and ecological projects.

Learn more about all 105 volcanoes in Ecuador and Galapagos.


Your Turn

Are you planning to summit Antisana? Ask Eran your questions below. Have you climbed Antisana? Please share your tips and experiences in the comment section.

Randy Wittig

Saturday 17th of October 2020

I climbed Antisana with a friend in 1967, leaving from Papallacta and hiked the first day to the snow line. The next day we climbed with the center summit. Hard and dangers with the glaciers, but beautiful. The third day we returned to Papallacta...tired. Great experience, beautiful scenes.