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El Refugio is near the settlement Santa Rosa, some 20 km east of Apuela, and about 50 km west of Otavalo. Depending on the season—the going is slower during the rainy season—the trip from Otavalo takes about two hours. The road from Otavalo crosses the western cordillera of the Andes, rising to a height of about 12,000 feet. The drive west (by car or bus) passes through a variety of landscapes and ecosystems, beginning with the high valley of Otavalo, through the paramo (a kind of alpine grassland), and descends into cloud forest. The forest will change as the altitude lowers, passing, for instance, through a zone of chusquea bamboo. The views are often spectacular. Look for birds--Andean Condors (especially near Laguna Cuicocha) and Sword-billed Hummingbirds (on the western downslope) are among the kinds that have been seen along the way.