GENERAL INFORMATION

• Area: 370.398 acres (149.900 ha)
• Date of Creation: December 11, 1996
• Altitude: 2.625 — 17.274 ft (800 — 5.265 m)

The Ilinizas, two volcanoes located side by side that give the name to the reserve, are in the group of Ecuador’s highest peaks. Together with other elevations of the area they form a geological barrier that condenses the humidity that arrives from the west. This has allowed the reserve to be the birthplace for the Toachi and Pilatón rivers, the main tributaries of wide Esmeraldas River, and the ground for a dense and very humid montane forest, still mostly and a refuge for many species.