Reserva Ecologica Antisana

This national park is gorgeous! A must to visit if you’re traveling to Ecuador.

The park offers beautiful views of the Andes mountains and most notably Volcan Antisana.

Come with warm clothes, layers and rain gear because the weather is unpredictable!

The park had beautiful animals passing by such as Andean deer, they were a treat to see!

Otherworldly landscapes, beautiful birding, never seen anywhere else! Visited on 13th May 2023.

The car service we have been using for the last three months now (a big shoutout to Xavier Transporte Quito - +593-99-503-6252, available on WhatsApp as well, for excellent cars and even better drivers who speak fluent English and Spanish of course) picked my wife and me from our apartment in Quito at 6:30AM. We headed to Tambor Condor, a private cabin with restaurants. They have hummingbird feeders, but it is also a great place to watch the Andean Condors jump off the face of the cliff into the ravine and then catch the thermals to fly them above the cliffs (these birds really hate flapping their giant 10 ft wingspan wings).

Our expert birding guide, Gabriel Raza (+593-98-263-5798, available on WhatsApp as well) joined us with his birding scope and his binoculars. His ability to identify the birds by their sound and from a great distance is amazing. And then he will pull out his app on the phone and show what we should be looking for. He has been the best bird guide we have had ever and we used a few other excellent guides before Xavier found Gabriel.

Highly recommend layered warm clothing, rain coat, good boots, warm hat for this place. We forgot our second layer and we borrowed some from Xavier and Gabriel. It was cold in the morning and even more so in the afternoon when it gets really foggy and drizzles.

After the birding at Tambor, we continued toward the La Mica lake and stopped on the side of a stream where we had wonderful sightings of many birds including the Ecuadorian Hillstar hummingbirds. As we kept climbing higher while driving towards the lake and the vista of the gorgeous snow and cloud covered Antisana volcano, we found a very different landscape, the ground covered with beds of alpine shrubs with their beautiful carpets and flowers.

We found many white-tailed deers with the males having reindeer like antlers. We stopped at La Mica lake and did a short walk to the edge of the lake. It was drizzling, blustery and cold, but we got the see the cute Grass Wrens singing to each other.

Impressive and magnificent views of the Antisana volcano, lagunas de Secas, Mica lake, the páramo, and wildlife with condors, deers, curiquingue falcons, culpeo foxes, spectacled bears, and birds, a lot. Very clean, but demanding paths.

The prime spot in all of Ecuador for seeing the Andean Condor. Stunning vistas and many other bird species at high elevation.

Reserva ecológica antisana offers nice views and a great trekking place to enjoy the nature all around you, breathtaking views of antisana volcano and the Mica Lagoon on the other side.

The reserve DOES NOT allow the entry of pet's, your car will be inspected upon arrival and there is a second control you must go thru by foot. When driving there please keep your car in the designated paths at all time.

Please abide by the local guidelines and respect the nature, you might en able to spot Condors and many other wild animals like rabbits, deers and so on.

A great place to hike and be with nature. There are a couple of trails one can take. The main one is about two miles and it goes to lookout points where, if you are lucky, you can see the majestic Antisana on one side and the Mica lake on the other side. The temps during the day are between 35 and 45 degrees F. It is normally windy so you feel the cold temps; must bring a warm sweater, a windbreaker/raincoat, a scarf, and something to keep your head warm. The trip from the north part of Quito takes about two hours (in your own vehicle). There is no fee to enter the park and it is open from 7:00 AM until 4:30 PM. The Antisana volcano is gorgeous.

We visit La Mica , very nice and really close from Quito, be aware to get your fishing permit in advance if you are planning to fish.

4x4 car recommended and take something to drink and eat with you. nice walk from ranger station up to view point

Very peaceful place. Very nice landscapes! No good restaurant around however.

Beautifull place, good view over the Laguna that is there and the amazing Volcano Antisana can be seen perfectly from here. A big variety of birds and other animals can be found here as well, with a lucky chance of finding a condor.

Amazing place! Breathtaking views of the Antisanal vulcano and the surrounding. Lots of rabbits and birds around. Very high chance to see condors!

There is no better place to explore the wild life and be amazed with every little thing that all the wildlife reserves in Ecuador

Terrific. Bike tour from the Chillos valley.

Maybe the best vulcano and preserve to visit near Quito

You have to climb the Cóndor mountain.

Into the Wild what a beautiful National Ecological site

Beautiful place for an awesome adventure.

It's a beautiful place. There you can see a lot of representative animals of Ecuador. If you are lucky enough to see the flight of the condor is a show that is not repeated more than once in life.

A wonderful reserve full of natural beauty, wildlife and flora. We saw many species of rare and endangered birds. We also saw the Andean Bear and Andean fox and had close-up views of raptors like the great horned owl and variable hawk. I highly recommend a visit here if you're a bird watcher or a nature lover.

Really good road, infraestructure, nature, landscapes, learning and animal watching; way better than Cotopaxi