Papallacta - Thermal Joy!!! - June 27-28

Altitude:  10,824 feet a.s.l.
Ecoregions:   Humid upper-montane  rainforest

Chris with Volcano Antisana on a rare clear day in June.

 Mauriceo drove us from Cabanas San Isidro to the upscale resort of Termas de Papallacta high on the Eastern slope of the Andes.  I knew we would probably not see any new species of hummingbirds here but was dying to stay somewhere with heat and to try out the thermal baths.  This was a “must see” tourist attraction for me.  This is an award winning resort because of their environmentally responsible operations.  Geothermal heat from the volcanoes is used to heat the rooms, hot water, and of course the amazing thermal springs. 

The thermal springs were soothing to our aching bones!

 It is also right next door to the Cayambe Coca National Park so we were able to hunt for birds between warming up in the thermal springs. 

It is considered the winter season here in June, July and August so we were expecting cold, rainy, cloudy weather at this altitude.  The first day – that’s what we got -  typical high altitude day and plenty of mud. 

The river was raging.

 But, on June 28^th we awoke to miraculous weather.  The sky was bright blue and we could see the snow capped Antisana Volcano while lying in a thermal spring.  It was spectacular and very rare for this time of year. 

A rare clear sky during winter at Termas de Papallacta

The snow capped Antisana Volcano

This is one of the flowering trees (Brugmansia) that were all over the trails and resort.

   The grounds and trails had loads of flowering plants especially the Brugmansia which were covered with flowers and often hummingbirds.  We enjoyed the rivers, cattle, trout, a warm room, Shining Sunbeam hummingbirds, thermal baths and the spectacular view.

A Shining Sunbeam puffs up his feathers as he dries out in the early morning.

This bull was watching us as much as we were watching him.