El Angel Nature Reserve - Lagunas De Voladero | Informal Campsite

May 14th, 2024 by disturbingcymbals54

Came here cycling two persons.
We talked with the nice guard if we could sleep here. No problem , we pitch the tent inside the building. Private bathrooms.
Cold rain water. Table inside. Electrecity. No signal.
Perfect for one night. There is always someone to keep an eye.

May 3rd, 2024 by frightenedshoehorn01

We made it here, from El Angel, with our Toyota Winnebago 89 with 2wd. We drove very slowly and we managed just fine.
The road is rough and some clearance is advised. The weather was dry so it might have helped.
We arrived at 5:30pm and walked up to the ranger lodge to ask if we could sleep inside. He told us that staying there overnight is not allowed anymore (due to an earthquake that happened not far from here and its replicas). But he very kindly opened the gate and made an exception for us. He was really nice and polite, we had a good chat that evening and the day after.
The area is gorgeous, the walk is a 2,5km loop and the views are amazing.

December 17th, 2023 by thomas2112

Nice place and interesting NP. It has a nice walk. Camping is no problem and the guards are very friendly. Toilets open all night.
They have only rain water.
There is a guard during the night.
The direct road to Tulcan is still closed because of landslide

December 13th, 2023 by CarterR

Stayed here overnight- the park “ranger” was super kind and offered to let me set up my tent in the white trailer. Really beautiful peaceful spot.

December 12th, 2023 by desertfalcon

Quiet, nice and safe, guarded 24h. Day shift ends around 5pm, night shift closes the gate (somewhere between 5 and 7 pm). If you arrive late and gate is locked, just walk to the building and talk to the ranger. The access road from El Angel is partly cobblestone, partly rocky and rough. 4x4 is not required, but decent clearance to avoid damage to the vehicle.

July 6th, 2023 by suziemccracken

No problem to camp here, but, since it’s a Páramo, the ground is very wet. We would have been okay in our tent but in the end we asked to sleep in an empty portakabin and that was fine! Obviously be prepared to brave the cold at this altitude :)

May 6th, 2023 by aventura

beautiful frailejones forest , nice path to get to the lake, 1h30 of walking returning through the viewpoint. Very clean bathrooms, water, electricity, cell phone signal. Very quiet and safe to spend the night, a little cold, it can reach zero degrees Celsius at dawn.

March 14th, 2023 by Ben

we drove here from El Angel: tricky dirt road but doable with our 2wd minivan. When we arrived the gate was closed so we decided to camp on the road ( no traffic). But around 7 pm a friendly park ranger arrived opened the gate and let us spebd the night on the parking lot with amazing vieuws. deffitly worth it to do the small hike in the national park. the landscapes look like a star wars movie!

Multuple people told us not to drive on to Tulcan from this point as the road is super bad or even non existent. So: back to El Angel and from there to the panamericana

March 11th, 2022 by Hobbes OnTour

As described, a wonderful view, helpful and friendly staff. On a bike I was initially told "no" because of COVID. But he relented to allow me pitch a tent then moved me inside to a room. The road, though, is unbelievably tough and I don't see how any vehicle can get along, especially from Tulcan.

January 15th, 2022 by outintonowhere

Amazing spot to visit! Don’t miss it. The road up is really beautiful and as far as I paved roads go it’s pretty fun. Quiet. Safe. Gorgeous. Get here before 5pm or the gates might be closed.

November 21st, 2019 by nickperkins

As stated, an absolutely beautiful place to visit, with páramo and frailejones like I have never seen anywhere else. Good parking with space for lots of vehicles, tents, etc. Clean toilet and cold shower. Water available (said to be potable) from stream running past the lodge. The very friendly rangers insisted I sleep in an unused office as they were worried about me being cold in my tent! I rode this route in wet season (late November) and road from El Angel (town) to the park is cobbled and gravel and in generally good condition, but from the park to Tulcan was a gnarly, deeply rutted mud-fest. I had to push and carry my bike through varios sections. I doubt that any car or non-4x4 truck would get through. Also the old stone bridge across a stream about half way between the park and Tulcan has partially collapsed and what’s left is probably only suitable for lighter vehicles. The views on both roads are amazing, especially on the way down to Tulcan - páramo full of frailejones as far as the eye can see for kilometre after kilometre.

March 19th, 2019 by Wilson Ahoi

This place is open, no more constructions! You can camp in the gravel parking lot next to the ranger station. Beatiful place. Free. Toilets and running water open all night. Mililons of Frailejones around - el Angel is the only place to see them in Ecuador.

February 1st, 2019 by unscriptedride.com

The park itself is still open but the car park is a building site and very muddy, so we didn’t stay. Good views on way down to Tulcan but road was very potholed, rocky, narrow and wet. There was no running water up here either

January 20th, 2019 by neversurfsced

currently closed and under construction. I'm sure you can park a rig or even pitch a tent here but there are no facilities. the road coming in from the border is impassable for large rigs or anybody without capable four-wheel drive. very muddy and tight...

January 9th, 2019 by franco

Relaxing place, people here is very nice. Beautiful landscape. Easy and must do trail between native vegetation "frailejones" and lakes.
If you have a normal car only able to enter from El Ángel town, the road between here and Tulcan is only for high vehicles, 4x4 recommended to have fun.

November 5th, 2018 by germainbasle

what a beautiful place !! found on the cloudy afternoon, a girl gives us a room for free, toilet, no électricity for thé moment, the place will be finish on february 2019.
nice walk up to the lodge, you can’t miss it

December 12th, 2016 by dannywright89

Very beautiful place to stay. A little cold in the night.
We were able to stay in a room in the lodge for free and we shared a meal and conversation with the very friendly park guard.

October 31st, 2016 by kasbah.ch

At this time of the year the mornings here are mostly crisp and very clear while clouds start to pull in after mid morning. The view over the lagoons from the ridge mirador was spectacular at 8 am!
Then we drove down to Tulcan in about 2 hours. It's the first 10 km where a 4WD is recommended, mainly for clearance not for traction: there were some bog holes but otherwise the track was mostly dry. Had no issues with our vehicle that is 2.02 m wide (plus the mirrors) up to a height of 2.7 m.

October 20th, 2016 by AndreasKramer.ch

Yes, it is a bad road! We drove the harder way from N to S (upwards) in wet conditions and rain. Luckily we got stuck only once in the soft track (turf/moor) but got our Landcruiser 78 quickly out. Even in dry weather you need high clearence, maybe no 4x4. We drove it in 1:45 (Tulcan to refugio).

June 10th, 2016 by bunnyhummer

we almost didnt make it with our truck camper from the north/Tulcan. when its cloudy or rainy dont go without 4x4. that said, very beautiful and scenic road. and after all shoveling, fun to drive. took us 4.5 hours for 27km with mud on some parts:)

September 26th, 2015 by Track World Travel

Nomadizens is right. He drove the track from the south. When you drive the track from the north (Tulcan) prepare yourselve for a more then 2 hour drive (30 km) on a narrow track with deep holes in a more spectaculair scenery. In dry weather you don't need 4wd but more then normal ground clearing is advised. When your rig is wider then a landcruiser/landrover take the southern route.

January 29th, 2015 by Nomadizens

Free camping in parking lot next to lodge. Eventually they will have rooms for guests, but not yet. 15 km of rough gravel road to get here, but relaxing and beautiful views. 2.5 km trail leaves from parking lot.