Day 1 At 8:00 a.m. we leave Riobamba. After about 2 hours driving we arrive at Boca Toma, the starting point of this trek (3200 m. / 10.499 f. altitude). We put our equipment on horses and start hiking on the páramo highlands of Sangay National Park. In this area you still have chance to observe the Andean condor. After 6 - 7 hours we arrive at our campsite at 4100 m. / 13.452 f. altitude.
Day 2 Today we continue hiking on the páramo. After 5 -6 hours we reach the Laguna Negra (Black Lagoon), at 4200 m. / 13.780 f. altitude. With clear weather you will have excellent views of the Andes and the Amazon. Now we will start descending. At about 4000 m. / 13.124 f. altitude we pitch our tents.
Day 3 We continue the descent, and while we loose altitude, we can see that the landscape changes. The vegetation is getting more dense, with many trees, ferns, beautiful flowers and small streams. After about 4 - 5 hours of hiking we reach the hot springs of El Placer (2750 m. / 9022 f. altitude). Placer means ,,pleasure'' and that is a a good description for this beautiful site.
Day 4 After another bath in El Placer we will start the return trip to the highlands. We will hike for about 5 hours and make our camp at Magdalena, at 3500 m. / 11.483 f.
Day 5 We continue hiking up until reaching Laguna Negra, and then go down to the village of Alao. From this village we return to Riobamba by car.
Arrival at Riobamba at about 5:00 p.m.
DIFFICULTY: difficult; a good acclimatization and excellent condition are required for this trek
DEPARTURE: any day with minimum 2 persons
