The village of El Ángel is the gateway to one of Ecuador's strangest landscapes. It is a small farming town of around four thousand people in the northern province of Carchi, at roughly 3,000 metres, with a tidy main square, a church and streets lined with simple houses. A short ride above it lies the El Ángel Ecological Reserve, a protected area of páramo where thousands of frailejones, the tall, silver-green plants with furry leaves and yellow flowers, stand across the hills like a crowd of strange sentinels.
The ride up from Tulcán or from the south passes through cold, green countryside of dairy farms, potato fields and wheat, with views of the eastern cordillera. The road climbs onto open páramo, where the pavement may give way to gravel and the fog can come down in minutes, hiding the road and the frailejones until you are almost on top of them. Wind is constant, so go early, wear warm gloves, and prepare for rain. Drive slowly, because cattle often graze near the road.
Higher up, the reserve holds lakes, including the Lagunas del Voladero, with clear water and a boardwalk across the wetlands, and tufts of cushion plants that store water like sponges. Birds of prey circle overhead, and with luck you may see a spectacled bear, a puma or an Andean fox, though they are shy. The plants themselves grow only a few centimetres a year, so some of the oldest are many decades old, and visitors are asked to keep to the paths.
Fuel is the point to plan around. San Gabriel is also a good place for a warm lunch, with simple restaurants serving hearty soups, and a morning market. If you are staying overnight, there are small guesthouses, and evenings are very cold, so carry a warm layer and keep your bike covered. The park office gives current information about conditions.