Cotopaxi is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, a glittering cone of snow and ice rising to about 5,900 metres in the middle of Ecuador's Andes. The German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who passed through in 1802, coined the name Avenue of the Volcanoes for the double row of peaks that frame the Panamericana highway, and he was moved by Cotopaxi's perfect shape. Its name is often said to mean neck of the moon in Quechua, though the origin is uncertain. The volcano has erupted many times, including in 2015, when it woke after decades of silence and sent steam and ash into the air, so authorities monitor it closely and access can change.
Riding this part of the Avenue means being at altitude, and the first rule is to go slowly. The Panamericana is a well-surfaced road, though busy with trucks and buses, and from Machachi, a pleasant farming town at the foot of the Illinizas, it runs south toward Latacunga across a high valley at about three thousand metres. The air is thin, so bikes lose power, and riders may feel breathless and headachy until they adapt. Weather is dramatic: clear mornings often give way to cloud, and the volcano hides itself for days. Dry months, June to September, are best, and the wetter season brings fog and rain.
Inside Cotopaxi National Park the landscape is high páramo, a wet tussock grassland at around 3,800 metres and above, with Lake Limpiopungo, a shallow lagoon where Andean gulls and ducks gather, set against the cone. Wild horses graze nearby, and lucky visitors see Andean condors, which circle over the cliffs, along with foxes and, if you are very lucky, the spectacled bear. Park roads are mostly gravel and can be rough, and the cold wind is intense, so dress in layers.
For practical matters, the nearest fuel stations are in Machachi, about twenty-four kilometres away, and in Latacunga, a town of about fifty thousand, farther south. Fill up in one or the other, and carry water and snacks. Thursday is market day in Saquisilí, a small town not far away, and it is one of the most colourful markets in the Andes, with Indigenous traders arriving in felt hats and bright shawls. Sample hot canelazo, a cinnamon and sugar cane spirit drink, on a cold evening.