One hour driving from Quito, another rock giant watches over Ecuador’s capital. The Corazon Mountain with 4788 meters high is constituted in one of the best trekking around the city of Quito.
Denominated Corazon (Heart in Spanish) because of the edges in the northwest side of the summit turns to form the profile of a heart when it is looked from far away.

Located between the atacazo and the illinizas, it has a preferential view of the surrounding volcanoes such as the Cotopaxi, the Pasochoa, the illinizas and the Rumiñahui.
The adventure begins in Quito; it is feasible to arrive to this mountain with our own four-wheel drive vehicle for that the road doesn't allow the ascent of any vehicle type like in the Pasochoa or the Rumiñahui. From the Pan-American road we travel up to the aloasi entrance. A small sign indicates that the entrance exists. From this point it will take 2 to 3 Km. to the old station of the railroad that advances parallel to the highway. In this point we can already appreciate the beauty of the highland landscapes. The area is full with country properties, milk ranches and cattlemen. With some luck you can get milk, cheeses and yogurt recently prepared in the Haciendas.
The road continues in ascent by the middle of the Andean forest. We should be careful since the thick pajonal confuses many times the road and we can get easily lost.
After a quite strong walk we arrive to the base of a great rock from where the ascent to the summit begins. Up to this point we have taken a long 3 hours walk. There are some access doors to private properties during the road; we should request permission so we are allowed to pass without any setback.

Starting from this point the final walk toward the summit is quite intense. Although it presents some rock climbing sections, it is not required to have special gear neither previous knowledge of rock climbing.
When we arrived to the summit the view is spectacular. In a clear day, it is possible to observe the western slopes of the Andes full covered by the cloud forest.
To the other side, the incredible tapestries formed by the cultivations in the valley they fill with color the landscape. The country properties and the small cities can be appreciated from this point of the serranía. The Cotopaxi full of splendor can be seen just in front of you. The Illnizas, the Rumiñahui, the Pasochoa and the atacazo are also present. For their strategic location and with some luck and good climate, the summits of the sincholagua, the Antisana and the Cayambe are visible too.
After a short rest, we begin the descent until the highway. In the first tract it is necessary to be careful since the rocky land can be a little unstable.
The slope covered with pajonal can be complicated too. We recommend you to take it slow in this section.
To the return to the highway and then to Quito, we stopped in Aloag to enjoy a delicious lunch.
The descent took us approximately 3 and half hours.