Cotopaxi is one of South America’s most famous and most active volcanoes. At 5,911 meters it is also one of the world’s highest active volcanoes. Climbing to the summit of Cotopaxi has become a popular tourist activity with around 100 climbers each weekend.
In April 2015 the volcano began to show signs of unrest, with the most recent major ash and steam eruption occurring on August 14 and 15, 2015, the first time in 70 years.
The Cotopaxi volcano continues to rumble, emitting almost constant steam-and-ash plumes since the eruption in mid-August. The ash rose 12km into the air and spread westward. Quito is expected to be safe from direct effects of a major explosion from Cotopaxi. The government has issued a state of emergency with the declaration of a ‘Yellow’ (mild) alert for the province of Cotopaxi including Latacunga, and are evacuating people living at the base of the volcano as a preventative measure.
Cotopaxi National Park is now closed and tourism to the area has ceased. Ecuador Unique, the company who operates all land tours for Ecoventura, is offering a tour to Antisana Ecological Reserve as an alternative, offering a highlands wildlife experience. In the event of another eruption, and the ash is blown North toward Quito, most likely the airport will close and airlines will divert international flights to Guayaquil and provide passengers with one night at a hotel.
Ecoventura recommends their guests do the following:
1) Book your international flights into Guayaquil (GYE) before and after the cruise, unless you have tours departing from Quito.
2) Purchase Trip interruption and delay insurance for the Ecuador mainland portion of your trip
We will continue to update you as we know more about the Cotopaxi Volcano
You can check out webcams pointed at Cotopaxi here
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