El Altar
Volcano in Ecuador
title: "El Altar" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["stratovolcanoes-of-ecuador", "calderas-of-ecuador", "volcanic-crater-lakes", "extinct-volcanoes", "five-thousanders-of-the-andes"] description: "Volcano in Ecuador" topic_path: "general/stratovolcanoes-of-ecuador" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Altar" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Volcano in Ecuador ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | El Altar |
| other_name | Capak Urcu |
| photo | Volcán El Altar - Riobamba Ecuador.jpg |
| photo_caption | El Altar in 2006 |
| elevation_m | 5319 |
| elevation_ref | |
| prominence_m | 2072 |
| prominence_ref | |
| listing | Ultra |
| List of volcanoes in Ecuador | |
| location | Ecuador |
| range | Andes |
| map | Ecuador |
| map_size | 260 |
| label_position | right |
| coordinates | |
| coordinates_ref | |
| type | Stratovolcano (extinct) |
| age | Pliocene-Pleistocene |
| last_eruption | Unknown |
| first_ascent | 7 July 1963 by Marino Tremonti, Ferdinando Gaspard and Claudio Zardini |
| easiest_route | rock/ice climb |
| :: |
| name = El Altar | other_name = Capak Urcu | photo = Volcán El Altar - Riobamba Ecuador.jpg | photo_caption = El Altar in 2006 | elevation_m = 5319 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = 2072 | prominence_ref = | listing = Ultra List of volcanoes in Ecuador | location = Ecuador | range = Andes | map = Ecuador |relief=1 | map_size = 260 | label_position = right | coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = | type = Stratovolcano (extinct) | age = Pliocene-Pleistocene | last_eruption = Unknown | first_ascent = 7 July 1963 by Marino Tremonti, Ferdinando Gaspard and Claudio Zardini | easiest_route = rock/ice climb El Altar or Capac Urcu (possibly from Kichwa kapak principal, great, important / magnificence, urku mountain) is an extinct volcano on the western side of Sangay National Park in Ecuador, 170 km south of Quito, with a highest point of 5319 m. Spaniards named it so because it resembled two nuns and four friars listening to a bishop around a church altar. In older English sources it is also called The Altar.
Geology
El Altar consists of a large stratovolcano of Pliocene-Pleistocene age with a caldera breached to the west. Inca legends report that the top of El Altar collapsed after seven years of activity in about 1460, but the caldera is considered to be much older than this by geologists. Nine major peaks over 5000 m form a horseshoe-shaped ridge about 3 km across, surrounding a central basin that contains a crater lake at about 4200 m, known as Laguna Collanes or Laguna Amarilla.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Lagunacollanes.JPG" caption="Laguna Collanes or Laguna Amarilla"] ::
Access and recreation
El Altar is perhaps the most technically demanding climb in Ecuador. The route to the El Obispo summit is graded D+. December through February are the best months to attempt an ascent. Much more accessible is the hike to the lake within the caldera of the mountain. From Riobamba, one takes a bus for about an hour to Candelaria and then checks in at the ranger station to enter the Sangay park. About 4–7 hours of an extremely muddy trail (knee-high rubber boots are recommended) leaves one at the refuge belonging to Hacienda Releche, which can be rented. The refuge has many beds, and a kitchen. To hike to the lake is another 1.5h - 2 hours from the refuge across a valley and up a steep hill.
List of peaks
The nine peaks of El Altar, starting with the highest summit on the south side and proceeding counterclockwise: ::data[format=table]
| Peak name | Translation | Elevation | Direction from lake | First ascent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obispo | Bishop | 5319 m | South | July 7, 1963, Ferdinando Gaspard, Marino Tremonti, Claudio Zardini |
| Monja Grande | Great Nun | 5160 m | Southeast | August 17, 1968, Bill Ross and Margaret Young |
| Monja Chica | Small Nun | 5080 m | East-Southeast | January 16, 1971, Peter Bednar and party |
| Tabernáculo | Tabernacle | 5180 m | East | |
| Fraile Oriental | Eastern Friar | 5060 m | East-Northeast | September 28, 1979, Fernando Jaramillo, Danny Moreno, Luis Naranjo, Hernán Reinoso, Mauricio Reinoso and Marcos Serrano |
| Fraile Beato | Devout Friar | 5050 m | East-Northeast | |
| Fraile Central | Central Friar | 5070 m | Northeast | |
| Fraile Grande | Great Friar | 5180 m | North-Northeast | December 1, 1972, Lorenzo Lorenzi, Armando Perron, Marino Tremonti |
| Canónigo | Canon | 5260 m | North | March 7, 1965, Ferdinando Gaspard, Lorenzo Lorenzi, Marino Tremonti, Claudio Zardini |
| :: |
References
Sources
- (in Spanish)
References
- [http://www.peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/ecuador.html "Ecuador: 15 Mountain Summits with Prominence of 1,500 meters or greater"] Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- Neate, Jill. ''Mountaineering in the Andes: A Sourcebook for Climbers''. Royal Geographical Society, 1994, p.26.
- Kichwa Yachakukkunapa Shimiyuk Kamu (Ministry of Education, Ecuador) (Kichwa-Spanish dictionary), 2009
- Miñaca Rea Silvia Patricia, Vallejo Lara Vicente Orlando, ''Diseño de paquetes turísticos para el Nevado Los Altares por el sector Inguisay'', Universidad de Chimborazo, 2010 (in Spanish)
- ''The New International Encyclopaedia'' Volume 1 ed [[Frank Moore Colby]], Talcott Williams 1918 Page 618 "The northern group, mainly comprised in Ecuador, is the most imposing collection of active and extinct volcanoes on earth. ... The Altar, a truncated mountain, 17,736 feet in height, is said to have once been the highest in the region"
- Comair, Chris. (17 January 2018). "El Altar, The Modern Italian Route".
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