Altar Climbing

Riobamba, located at 2750 meters above sea level, is our home base. Known as the Sultan of the Andes, it is a four hour drive from the Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and Guayaquil, the principal port of Ecuador

Riobamba is called the capital of mountaineering in Ecuador, because there are five mountain peaks over five thousand meters nearby. Chimborazo (6310m) is the highest peak in Ecuador and the Earth’s closest point to the sun. El Altar (5320 meters ), often described as the most beautiful mountain in Ecuador, is a collection of peaks resulting from the collapse of a volcano. It is Ecuador’s most technical mountain from a climbing standpoint but visiting the lakes and glaciers at its base is easy. Carihayrazo (5020m), another collapsed volcano, Tungurahua (5029 m), an active volcano, and Sangay (5230 m) another active volcano, complete the five peaks surrounding Riobamba. All offer the perfect setting for the serious climbers who want to scale summits or walkers who want to enjoy canyoning, camping, or photographing beautiful scenery.

Traveling through small villages located in valleys or on mountain ridges near Riobamba allows you to interact with a diverse population resulting from miscegenation among Puruhaes (a local indigenous group), Incas and the Spanish. The cultural richness seen in markets and festivals is amazing.

Around Riobamba are two important reserves: Sangay National Park, named by UNESCO in 1983 as a World Heritage Site for its varied ecosystems that range from rain and cloud forests to Andean páramo to snow-capped volcanoes such as Altar, Sangay, and Tungurahua. The park is the habitat of wildlife like Andean puma, bears, jaguar, tapir, deer, and condors. Within the park’s boundaries are lakes of various colors and forms and waterfalls of all sizes.

The second reserve is the Reserva de Produccion Faunística de Chimborazo, a reserve designated to the protection of  vicuña.

With the help of a qualified guide, tourists who visit these sites will discover beautiful landscapes, numerous peaks to challenge the climber, and incredible cultural diversity