Cotacachi

Cotacachi is world wide known because of its important leather industry. It´s a very popular destiny due to it is not far from Quito and you can buy here first class items with low prices.

To get this city you take the Panamericana Norte which has very beautiful Andean landscapes. From the highway you can see the Cayambe volcano, Cerro de Puntas and even the Cotopaxi volcano. When you reach Guayllabamba (7782.4ft S 00° 03.124´ W 78° 20.896´)you have to options: The Tabacundo way, which is shorter; and Cayambe way which passes next to the Cayambe city ( 10048ft N 00°02.517´ W 78°08.564´) and the sun dial. Two ways join at the Pichincha and Imbabura provinces border.

The San Pablo Lake welcomes tourists that come to Imbabura Province. Few minutes after you get Otavalo city and 20 more minutes there is the detour to Cotacachi (to the left) at the traffic light. You enter Cotacachi by the 10 de Agosto Ave where you find many stores of leather articles.

Shoes, jackets, boots, purses, wallets, hats and a great variety of leather articles are made in this sector. The high quality and low prices are features of these items. The city is very quiet and people from here are very kind. If you plan to stay in Cotacachi the best option is the “El Arbolito” hostel, located in the park next to San Francisco church.

Another attraction is the Cuicocha Lagoon (9888ft N 00°17.565´ W 78°21.421´). The Cuicocha volcano erupted 2000 or 3000 years ago but it collapsed inside and formed the lagoon with its melted snow. Another eruption formed the two little islands inside the lagoon. In front of the lagoon there is the impressive Cotacachi mount whose its snow feeds Cuicocha. The lagoon is about 600ft depth but is has no animal life because of the lack of shores. There are 2 boats that offers you tours by the lagoon ($2 USD), so you can see better the islands and some mineral gas bubbles from the bottom of the lagoon which indicates that the volcano is still active.

There is an interpretation center and paths that go the lagoon´s perimeter. There is a great flora and fauna, there are rabbits, paramo wolves, cuyes (guinea pigs), ducks and even bear with glasses (trecmatus ornatus).

There are more pictures in this gallery.