The celebrates gone or "avenue" of the volcanos which extends between Quito and Riobamba, is initially an Indian ground par excellence. In this majestic panorama, emergent of the fogs of majestic volcanos to the covered with snow summit, sheltering the Indian communities which remain the heart of the country.
The tested amateurs of andism will be filled by the presence, in the area, of many sites of climbing with inter alia, Illiniza, Chimborazo, Sangay, Tungurahua, Altar and Cotopaxi.
The area is also marked by the presence of picturesque small Amerindian villages, which are characterized especially by their markets completely different the ones from the others.
One in the ways of discovering the area in the south of Quito in an original and picturesque way is to traverse "the alley of the volcanos" in the train.
This way, very tourist, which leads you of Quito to Riobamba, attracts the foreign travellers as much as the Ecuadorians because of its landscapes imposing and resting.

Each Thursday, the village of Saquisilí becomes animated thanks to its market. Too not attended by the tourists, it remained authenticates, one finds there more animals and products of craft industry, soups especially by the indigenous population. Some go even until saying that this market is more interesting than the famous market ofOtavalo.

Baños, located at 1900m of altitude, owes its name with the thermal baths which take their source with the foot of the Tungurahua volcano. The place proves to be ideal to slacken during some time and repaître landscapes of mountain. Thanks to its situation, in the heart of the Andes, Baños can easily be used as a basis to explore the area.

With 2700 meters of altitude, Riobamba enjoys an interesting geographical position, surrounded of splendid tops with, inter alia, the most volcano of Ecuador: Chimborazo (6.310m).

With 4.000 meters of altitude, Laguna de Quilotoa is a splendid lake of color emerald installed in the old crater of an extinct volcano.

Parks.
The national park of Cotopaxi extends on a surface of more than 32 000 ha, it shelters considerable species of birds, but also of spangled, the foxes, the pumas and the bears.
The national park Sangay (271.000 ha) is located in one of the most inaccessible zones and most wild of equator. The flora changes according to altitude, thus one passes from a wet tropical forest to the cold and snow-covered plates. In altitude, the bears côtoient the dashes, Jaguars, otters, stags, tatoos...
three volcanos "take care" on the park: Sangay (5.320 m) which does not cease thundering and smoking, Tungurahua (5.016 m) in rest since more than one century, Altar (5300 m) one of most beautiful which is.