We leave Riobamba at 8.15 by car and drive to the trailhead at 3800 m./12.467 ft. altitude. We start a 6 – 7 hour hike. The first 2 hours we hike on a small road, until we reach a small refuge at 4200 m. / 13.780 ft. If the weather is clear, you will have great panoramic views of the Andes mountain range, including the volcanoes Tungurahua, Altar, Sangay, Chimborazo and Carihuairazo. We continue on a trail up to 4400 m. / 14.436 ft. and then start going down to the beautiful Abraspungo Valley, with plants like the deer’s antler, cushion plants and lichens. This area is home to vicuñas (a protected species of camelid), and with some luck we’ll see the Chimborazo Hillstar, an endemic species of hummingbird that lives in the high Andes. Spend the night in a basic refuge in the indigenous community of Mechahuasca.