Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve, Nature reserve in Imbabura Province, Ecuador.

Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve covers 243,638 hectares across the western Andes and coastal lowlands of Esmeraldas and Imbabura provinces. Its altitude runs from 38 metres on the San Miguel riverbanks to 4,989 metres at Cotacachi Volcano, spanning páramo, montane cloud forest and humid tropical forest.

The reserve was created in 1968 to protect landscapes that had escaped intensive farming and development. This protection allowed plant species that needed special care to survive in their original state.

The Cayapa communities live within the reserve and have shaped how the landscape is used and understood by people who visit. You can see this presence in local trails, settlements, and the way the land is managed today.

The reserve lies about 140 km from Quito, spanning the Imbabura and Esmeraldas provinces. Eight-day guided walks can be booked inside the park. Trails cross zones from lowland rainforest to the Cotacachi Volcano; climbing the summit calls for rock-climbing experience.

The reserve's symbol is a condor, and its range spans from about 300 m in the west to Cotacachi Volcano at 4,944 m. The Cuicocha crater lake, roughly 200 m deep, holds hot springs and three volcanic domes that emerge from the water.