To the Northwest of the town of Otavalo and just 58 km North of Quito stands Cotacachi, a sacred mountain in the religious conception of the northern indians. It is and old eroded and extinct volcano located in the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve.

Below its slopes lies the remains of yet another volcano called Cuicocha Crater or Guinea Pig Lagoon, whose caldron was filled by the water of the melting glaciers above, thousands of years ago. Its name comes from the shape of one of the islands in the middle of the lagoon that resembles the shape of a "cui" or guinea pig. Cuicocha is a collapsed volcanic crater that measures 3 km / 1,9 miles in diameter and is about 200 m / 656 ft deep, but still shows signs of activity.

The trek around the crater offers some spectacular views of the lagoon and the surrounding mountains and valleys.