El Boliche on the slopes of the Rumiñahui Volcano 60 km from Quito offers trails, 2 visitor centers, a beautiful camping site.

You can get there by taking the Pan-American Highway South. A secondary road in good condition leads to the heart of the area, passing through a forestry area and next to the CLIRSEN satellite antennas.

 

Once in the pine forest, the landscape becomes more harmonious; this road continues long and runs through the recreation area. Another alternative way to get to the area is by train, leaving from the Chimbacalle station south of Quito. The two-hour journey takes you to a station a few meters from the administrative center of El Boliche, after a picturesque ride that is very attractive for visitors.

 

The best month to visit the area is August, because it is dry; while March, April, May and October are rainy. It is advisable to bring warm, waterproof clothing and high-top shoes.

 

TOURISM EL BOLICHE SECTOR: Around this space several cabins-refuge have been built that can be rented to spend the night.

 

SUNFANA PLANE VIEWPOINT: This is a viewpoint that dominates the area surrounding the Cotopaxi volcano; from there you can see vast pine forests on the Sunfana Plain, at the foot of the viewpoint. From the administrative center, it takes about 30 minutes on foot, but you can also go by vehicle to the beautiful camping site. The path continues long and, in about two hours, you reach the foothills of the Rumiñahui Volcano.

 

RECREATION AREA: This is the sector that groups together most of the infrastructure for visitors. Here there are two interpretation centers: one historical and another on the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP).

 

HIKING ROUTES: On the eastern edge of the Recreation Area is the Cotopaxi National Park and with it, some attractive paths. For example: the Sunfana road that leads to the Rumiñahui volcano, the road to Churupinto and Daule to enter through Caspi to Cotopaxi (Gallo et al. 1995).

 

QUISHUAR TRAIL: The walk takes approximately 40 minutes, but it can also be done by car. On the way you will pass by most of the attractions in the area, always through the pine forest.

 

If you plan to spend the night there, you will need a sleeping bag or thick blankets and mattresses. A good supply of food, sufficient for the duration of your stay, is vital, since it is not possible to get it once inside the area. To occupy the cabins, you must request information at the entrance control.

 

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GENERAL

The El Boliche National Recreation Area, located in the Andes of Ecuador, has two excellent visitor centers and reaches the foothills of the Rumiñahui Volcano. Read more...

 

It is a natural formation that combines biophysical characteristics and the Tiopullo node where two hydrographic basins are born: the San Pedro and Cutuchi rivers. The first one goes towards the Machachi valley and the second towards Latacunga.

 

Large forest complexes of pines and cypresses (200 ha) are destined for the national and foreign market, and are located around the Recreation Area. The native vegetation cover has been almost completely replaced by this type of plantations as a result of the lack of a national forestry order (SIPAE–EcoCiencia 2005). The area is composed of humid sandy-loam soils, which are characterized by their great capacity to retain moisture and are very black in color in cold areas (Manrique 2006).

 

GAZETTED

July 26, 1979 interministerial agreement a-322 OFFICIAL REGISTRY November 20, 1979 R. o. N° 69

 

SURFACE AREA: 392 ha

 

ALTITUDINAL RANGE 3 000-3 704 masl

 

CLIMATE: This area of ​​the mountain range is characterized by being very humid. Precipitation, the result of condensation of humidity and fog, produces a large amount of dew that falls on the ground and vegetation in the form of permanent rain throughout the year (Gallo et al. 1995). The average annual temperature is 8 °C.

FLORA & FAUNA

FLORA

The Boliche swamps are not so varied, nor prone to endemism. The plant diversity is widely distributed and there are no endangered species. Still, the flora has interesting special characteristics such as adaptations to extreme cold and heat temperatures, such as low plants of no more than 200 cm, with xerophytic, hairy, small leaves and yellowish or reddish-brown colour due to high solar radiation (Gallo et al. 1995).

 

However, remnants of the original flora (seed supplies) and fauna are found in ravines. The tree, shrub and herbaceous species together with vines, epiphytes and large quantities of mosses form small relics of great scenic beauty.

FORMACIONES VEGETALES

According to the proposed plant classification by Sierra (1999), the protected area is located in the Central Sector of the Western Cordillera and has three plant formations:

HIGH MONTANO EVERGREEN FOREST (3,000–3,400 masl): Known as the Andean Brow or transitional vegetation between the high montane forests and the páramo. In terms of its physiognomy, the amount of mosses and epiphytic plants is similar to that of the cloud forest.

 

HERBACEOUS PÁRAMO (3,400–4,000 masl): At its lower limit is the Andean Brow or, depending on the case, there are cultivated fields where the Andean forest has been deforested. The páramo is dominated by tufted grasses of the genera Calamagrostis and Festuca, interspersed with small shrubs and other grasses (Sierra 1999). For example, the grasses Calamagrostis effusca and Festuca sp. (Poaceae) are distributed throughout the protected area (Sierra 1999), as are the shrubs, mostly belonging to the Asteraceae family, as well as Valerianaceae and Hypericaceae. Regarding small herbs, the families Polygonaceae, Gentianaceae and Papillionaceae can be mentioned (Gallo et al. 1995).

 

CUSHION PARAMO (4,000–4,500 masl): The tufted grasses decrease and are replaced by shrubs, various types of grasses, rosette plants and, in the more humid paramos, by pillow plants (Sierra 1999). There is a diversity of lower plants such as mosses, lichens, ferns and lycopods. The pillows are associations of Werneria nubigena, Hypochaeris sessiliflora and Draba sp. Large quantities of water accumulate in this formation, which contributes to maintaining humidity and the formation of primary watersheds (Gallo et al. 1995).

 

FAUNA

The fauna of the area belongs to the High Andean zoogeographic zone; however, there is no current data on the number of fauna species in the Recreation Area.

 

MAMMALS

In the areas near the water tributaries in the ravines, the presence of the common marsupial mouse (Caenolestes fuliginosus) was recorded; while in the thickets of the ravines, where moss predominates, live the shrews (Cryptotis thomasi). A very abundant marsupial in the rural villages is the fox (Didelphis marsupialis); (Gallo et al. 1995).

 

Within the group of bats, the presence of Sturnira, Histiotus and Myotis can be mentioned. Among the macromammals, the puma (Puma concolor) can be mentioned, sighted seasonally when the deer populations are large. This animal has wandering habits and has been observed in the area where the llamas graze. The presence of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and white-tailed deer (Mazama furina) has also been recorded, species that were managed in semi-captivity for reproduction. It is common to find páramo wolves (Lycalopex culpaeus) and chucuri (Mustela frenata); (Gallo et al. 1995).

AVES

There is no exact number of bird diversity in the protected area; however, it is common to see early in the morning the red-backed hawk (Buteo polysoma), the wood pigeon (Columba fasciata), the tawny grallaria (Grallaria quitensis) and the blackbird (Turdus fuscater), species very well adapted to the pine forest (Gallo et al. 1995). In native forests other species can be observed such as: sigchas (Pipraeida melanonota) and tanagers (Tangara vassorii, Anisognathus igniventris, Dubusia taeniata, Thraupis bonariensis); (Gallo et al. 1995).

 

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

In the buffer zone and in the forests of the Andean Ceja (between 3,000 and 3,800 meters above sea level), the Eleutherodactylus curtipes (Brachycephalidae) has been identified. Another species found above 3,000 meters above sea level (Luntana ravine) is the glass frog (Centrolene buckleyi), whose habitat is streams with native forest. Other species of amphibians identified are: the marsupial frog (Gastrotheca riobambae) and Eleutherodactylus unistrigatus (Brachycephalidae); (Gallo et al. 1995). Regarding reptiles, two species were recorded: guagsa (Stenocercus guentheri) and Pholidobolus montium (Gymnophthalmidae).

 

INHABITANTS

The area was part of a large estate called Romerillos. In 1928 it was separated from the estate and became state property, to become the Cotopaxi High Altitude Station. The last owner of Romerillos was the Frenchman Manuel Hermann.