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10 EL ANGEL ECOLOGICAL RESERVE ECUADOR FACTS

1. Geology

2. Hydrology

3. Conservation status

4. Things to do

5. Vegetation

6. Mammals

7. Birds

8. Other critters

9. Getting there

10. Best tours

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Geology

During the quaternary, the Chiles Volcano has deposited volcanic materials, including andesites, basalts, fine ashes, which, consolidated, is known as cangahua.

The Volcanoes Chuzalongo (3,960 masl), Los Socavones, Yanacocha (4,000 masl), Chiles (4,218 masl) and Orifuela (4,213 masl), and Loma del Morro all are part of the reserve.

The eastern boundary of El Angel Ecological Reserve, Ecuador passes through Tetillas (3,819 masl), Tola Alta (3,821 masl), Voladero (3,815 masl), Altos Gradones (3,844 masl), El Bejucal (3,765 masl) and Loma Seca (3,760 masl). In addition there is the Loma el Mirador and Loma de Puyurcu (3,769 masl), the Cuchilla del Mayordomo, and the Chizaltón Hill.

To the west are the El Alto Hill, the summit of the Filo Cacho de Venado and the Chuzalongo Hill.

Frailejones, Espeletia grandiflora, at sunset.

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Hydrology

The climate is chilly, with average temperatures varying between 7-11 ° C. Maximum temperatures range from 0-18 ° C. Annual precipitation varies from 1,000 to 2,500 mm. The natural vegetation is dominated by grasses, with moss covering the soil in between that retain large quantities of water, reason for referring to  the reserve as a sponge.

Most of the reserve is an Andean paramo with lakes and marshes. The reserve is drained by the following creeks are: Ángel, Bobo, Grande, Chiquito, Plata, Morán, Chilquiyacu, Huarmiyacu, Cariyacu. To the south are: Baños, Cariyacu, Puerta de Piedra, Puenal, Curiquingue o Chimbo y Rosario,   y el Río Mal Paso.

All these streams form the upper parts of the watersheds of the Carchi and Mira Rivers that are used for irrigation and drinking water for the villages in the coastal regions.

The Voladero and Portrerillos Lakes are located on a poorly drained plain at 3,700 masl, which are covered by extensive marshes.

Lake Yanacocha: Located at the southern slope of Cerro Negro, of 120 m wide, at an elevation of 4,100 masl, with a temperature of about 5 ° C.

Laguna del Crespo: It is located at an elevation of 3,900 masl, with an average water temperature of 6 ° C.

Verdes Lakes: five lakes at 3,850 masl, at the southern slope of the Chiles Volcano. The water contains sulfur and are colored by chlorophilic algae, giving the lakes a turquoise color.

Lake El Arquitecto.

Río Ayora: Located on the banks of the river are wells of water and natural gasses.

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Conservation status and Facts El Angel Ecological Reserve, Ecuador

Declared August 5, 1992 by executive decree A-415 and published in the Official Register on September 8, 1992 r. O. No. 21. Its surface is 15,715 ha with an altitudinal range between 3,644 - 4,768 masl.

In exceptional cases, the administration of protected areas is not carried out by the Ministry of the Environment; This is the case of the El Angel Ecological Reserve which is co-managed by the Provincial Government of Carchi and the Municipal Governments of Tulcán, Mira, Bolívar, San Pedro de Huaca, Montufar and Espejo.

The Communities "La Libertad" and "July 23rd" have land titles within the reserve which together cover more than two-thirds of the territory of the Reserve. These communities have developed management plans focusing on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources within the area.

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Things to do

The main tourist attraction are the frailejones plants. The vegetation contrasts with the beautiful lakes, such as Lake El Voladero and Verdes, as well as Mirador, Chiles, among others.

You can visit the reserve throughout the year. During the dry season from June to October, the chance to enjoy a sunny day is much better, although you have to be prepared for strong winds. The rest of the year the sky is overcast most of the time with frequent rains and drizzles and temperatures occasionaly dropping to the low tens ° C.

From the main entrance 25 km north of the town El Angel is the main entrance, featuring:

• New visitor center;

• Parking;

• Access trails to the El Voladero Lakes;

• Self-guided trails (leaflets);

• Overlooks;

• Rest areas and ranger station.

Lake El Salado: Located 45 km from Tulcán and 4 km from San Gabriel. Services: Camping and visitor interpretation.

Lake Yanacocha: A 120 m wide lake located at the southern slopes of Cerro Negro, where you can go birdwatching and trout fishing.

Laguna del Crespo: It is the ideal place for picnic.

Verdes Lakes: Named after the green color of the water, you reach the sulfuric lakes along the Tufiño-Maldonado road.

Puente Ayora: On the banks of the Ayora River are water and natural gas wells, supposedly with healing properties.

Los Arrayanes de Santa Martha de Cuba forest: Located 22 km from Tulcán and 11 km East from the town of San Gabriel, located in a shallow gully surrounded by myrtle trees at 2,800 masl.

Ecotourism complex of Tufiño: Located 22 km from Tulcán and 8 km from Tufiño. It is a spa characterized by the medicinal springs of stinking waters with a high content of sulfur and average temperature of 50 ° C. It has a restaurant, a swimming pool, selfguided natural trails by the paramo of the Chiles Volcano.

Polylepis Forest: At 13 km from the town of El Angel in the buffer zone of the reserve, at 3,300 masl in the sector of the Colorado Canyon. Even though the Polylepis incana forest is not unique in the world, its excellent conservation status with old trees make it a very special ecosystem. Inside the forest is an inn with the same name which offers cabins with private bathroom, hot water, a fireplace, a restaurant and bar, sport fishing and ecological excursions on foot or on horseback. The entrance fee is rather high at $ 40 per person.

Uyama Resort: Located 20 km from the town Mira just before San Nicolás turning into a secondary road. Its main feature is the quality of its waters.

Las Canoas: A natural area located 1½ km from the West side of Tulcán, dating from 1953, at the location where the Rio Bobo forms a natural island. Considered ideal place for ecological walks, rowing in canoe, picnic and excursions.

Balneario la Calera: Located at 11 km from the town of El Angel, in a valley south of the parish of San Isidro, surrounded by natural forest that includes small vestiges of a petrified forest . Its thermal waters are rich in mineral salts and have a temperature of 28 ° C.

Baños de Tufiño: Located at 45 km from Tulcán in the direction of the town of Maldonado. There are 45 ° C hot springs, known as "Stinky Waters" because of their high content of sulfur.

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Vegetation

The páramo of the El Angel Ecological Reserve is different from most other paramos of Ecuador by the dominant presence of frailejones, Espeletia pycnophylla ssp. Angelensis, a composite that can grow 7 m heigh, with very hairy leaves. The páramos of the province Carchi have some of the most extensive frailejones paramos in Ecuador. The genus Espeletia is very diverse in the páramos of Colombia and Venezuela, crossing the western cordillera towards the province of the Carchi and in the Eastern mountain range from the border with Colombia to the National Park the Llanganates. In most areas where these plants are found, at least part of the original forests has been cut down and as such they can be considered a pioneer or restoration species.

Flora

Contrary to common belief, the paramo is not a diverse ecosystem. It is estimated that between elevations between 3,000 - 4,000 masl no more than about 250 species of plants occur. The most representative families are Asteraceae and Poaceae. Also important are Araliacae, Bromeliaceae, Rosaceae, Orchidaceae and Scrophulariaceae.

Located on the border with Colombia, many species endemic to Ecuador are not likely to be found, but there are probably some endemic to this bi-national area: about 50 species of vascular endemic plants that are grouped into 39 genera and 18 families, Of which 26 species have been confirmed within the reserve.

13 species of lichens are known to the Reserve having their greatest diversity at 3,900 masl.

Vegetation formations

The evergreen high montane forest (2,900-3,400 masl) hardly exists anymore in the reserve, although in some gullies, a few groves of  Polylepis sericeae, of the genus Polylepis, which forms the highest growing forests in the world.

The forest floor tends to be covered with a dense layer of moss and cushions of vascular plants. The trees are gnarled, with trunks branched into all directions and in some cases so inclined they almost grow horizontally.

The herbaceous páramo (3,400-4,000 msnm): In its lower parts, this ecosystem has developed after deforestation of the evergreen altimantane forest after which the ecosystem went through te process refered to as paramization. Especially in this part is the area inhabited by the frailejones.

Frailejones are composite that can grow up to 8 m tall.

The frailejones grow in the lower parts of the herbaceous páramo, that in its natural state, at least in part used to be Evergreen altimontane forest.

The herbaceous páramo is dominated by the Andean grasses, Calamagostris efusa, and Festuca sp., mixed with other herbs like Gentianella sp., Gentiana sp., Halenia sp.; Lupinus kunthii, Valeriana sp. and Bomarea glaucescens, as well as small shrubs like chuquiragua, Chuquiraga jussieui.

The Hercules Club, Puya-clava herculis, is a fascinating tall bromeliad of the paramo.

The Superpáramo or Gelidofitia (4,000-4,700 msnm): only present on the highest mountains in the reserve. In this type of páramo the vegetation only occurs in patches over the bare soil. The flora is characterized by xerophytic vascular plants that lose little water by and are resistant to high radiation, along with mosses and lichens.

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Mammals

Wildlife of the reserve corresponds to the high Andean zoogeographic  region. The number of mammals present in the reserve is unknown, but the following species can be mentioned: Andean Fox, Lycalopex culpaeus, Long-tailed weasel, Mustela frenata, White-tailed Deer, Puma, Puma concolor, Odocoileus virginianus, Red Brocket Deer, Mazama rufina, Ratón Marsupial, Tate's shrew opossum, Musaraña, Cryptotis equatoris, Dark Fruit Bat, Sturnira erythromos, Histiotus montanus, Brasilian Cottontail, Sylvilagus brasiliensis, Montane Oldfield mouse, Thomasomys paramorum, etc.

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Birds

Some 320 species of birds have been recorded, including endangered species such as the Andean condor, Vultur gryphus, as well as species endemic to the Central North Andes: Tangara Dorsipurpurina, Iridosornis porphyrocephala,  Margarornis stellatus and  Eriocnemis derbyi.

Other species are: Anas flavirostris, common in ponds and marshes, Merganetta armata, Phalcoboenus curunculatus, Falco sparverius, Vanellus resplendens, Tyto alba, Eriocnemis vestitus and Phrygilus unicolor. The reserve is very important for the winter distribution of neotropical migratory birds, including: Buteo platypterus, Empidonax alnorum, Catharus ustulatus, Piranga rubra, Reinita, Dendroica fusca and Wilsonia canadensis.

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Other critters

Little is known about the diversity of amphibians and reptiles, but some species worth mentioning are: Eleutherodactylus ocreatus, E. thymelensis, Osornophryne bufoniformis, E. Leoni, the Marsupial Toad, Gastrotheca espeletia and the lizard, Stenocercus angel.

Like almost all the paramos lakes, the ones in El Angel are have Rainbow Trout and the Brown Trout, introduced many years ago. They have displaced the native preñadilla species, Astroblepus regani and A. ubidiai, which are now only found in shallow places between the water plants along  river and lake shores.

In spite of the residence of the trout, a new species of fish was recently collected at 3,680 masl in the El Voladero Lake: Grundulus quitoensis sp. nov. It lives in water plants along the shore, in spite of being an easy prey for trout.

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Getting there

The El Ángel Ecological Reserve, Ecuador can be reached by several routes:

• Main road, crossing the western part of the Reserve;

• Sdphalt road El Ángel-La Libertad-Cobos (25 km);

• Main highway, crossing next to Lake El Voladero: old public road, partially paved with stones and partially asphalted, El Ángel-Tulcán (87 km);

• Highway, from Tulcán by the Panamerican Highway: San Gabriel-Bolivar-The Angel;

• Main highway, direction Lagunas Verdes Lakes: Tulcán-Tufiño-Lagunas Verdes road.

Most rural roads are dirt roads, and some are can't be taken during the rainy season, such as from San Isidro, La Libertad and Tufiño where there are roads that lead to the interior of the Reserve.

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Best Tours

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What we do now:

• Find out more about the National Parks of Ecuador;

• Ecotours to Cuyabeno visiting the Cofan Lodge and Cuyabeno Lodge;

• Organize great excursions on the brand new historical train system

• Take me to the National Parks Tour Programs.

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