El Ángel Ecological Reserve

General Information

• Area: 38.831 acres (15.715 ha)
• Date of Creation: August 2, 1992
• Altitude: 11.956 — 15.644 ft (3.644 — 4.768 m)

The northernmost reserve in mountainous Ecuador, El Ángel was established to protect the biggest remnant of frailejón forest. The area is also considered the most humid paramo of Ecuador, because its earth has the special property of acting like a sponge and holding large quantities of water. The cliffs of El Ángel are also the birthplace for many important rivers of the zone. However, the use of chemical fertilizers has contaminated some of those rivers.

Flora and Fauna

The frailejón forest covers more than 85% of the surface of the reserve. This cactus-like species are endemic to the northern Andes, can get to be 15 ft tall and their leaves are covered with a kind of fur to protect themselves from the cold. Graminaceous species, alder trees, romerillos, where bromeliads usually grow, blueberries, and chuquiraguas are other common flora of the area. Condors, owls, ducks and the caracara or curiquingue are among the most important birds. Mammals such as rabbits and paramo deer, formerly endangered by hunting, are abundant. The population of reptiles is diminishing, probably to the alterations in the ozone layer.

Tourism

To get to the reserve, one can use the Pan-American highway, going north from Quito and passing the city of Ibarra, until one gets to the town of El Ángel. From there one can take a road that leads northwest to the Colorado Canyon of the reserve, or northeast to the Voladero and Potrerillos Lakes, a good place to watch frailejones.