"Mojanda ~ Here I come." Laguna de Mojanda by malianrob

I finally was able to get to Mojanda. We attempted to get there a few years ago but we went the long way and before we knew it the fog came in and the dirt road was not drivable. Even before the fog rolled in the road was pretty bad, lots of potholes and we literally drove for a few hours. I was with my cousin Carlos and he had never been there either but he was given wrong directions. Or I shouldnt say they were wrong, they were just going the long way in. We were coming from Tabacundo. I recommend not going this way.
This time was a totally different adventure. It was totally unplanned. We went back to Otavalo to visit my Aunt and cousins and on the way over there my cousin starts talking about all these different places we can visit in or near Otavalo and they mention Mojanda.
I thought there was no time to go to Mojanda thinking it was so far but it turns out it was about 30 minutes away!

The Mojanda Lakes are really three remote lakes that are located at an elevation of around 3800 meters above sea level. The biggest lake is called Caricocha (Man Lake) or Laguna Grande de Mojanda. The other clear lake is called Huarmicocha (Woman Lake) and the third is called Yanacocha (Black Lake) because it is of a black, very dark color and there are not too many clear explanations as to why this is this color.
I only got to see the first of the Mojanda lakes. We got there in the late afternoon and by the time we reached the lake it was sprinkling then started to rain.
It is a huge lake and very quiet and beautiful around here. We were almost alone with just another family nearby that was camping.

The big thing around here is trout fishing but you can also hike up and around the volcanoes and mountains, and do sightseeing and ride horses.