The enchanting Cuicocha Lagoon is located on the northwestern range of the Ecuadorian Andes, in the Cotacachi Canton, Province of Imbabura, 110 km to the north of Quito, and at 3,064 meters above sea level. It is also known as Tuis-Cocha or “Lagoon of the Gods”.

Cuicocha is 12 km away from the city of Cotacachi, on the hillside of Cotacachi volcano, knows by the Kichwa population as “Maria Isabel de las Nieves” or “Mama Cotacachi”. There is a paved entrance road.

Cuicocha is a young volcano that started its activity 4,500 years ago producing volcanic mud flows (lahars), pyroclastic flows as well as lava domes, covering a huge area of NW South America with ash rains. This massive activity continued until 1,300 years ago.

The lagoon is within a volcanic caldera, which is why there is not much aquatic life, but still shows a spectacular vegetation sublagoons. The lagoon was filled largely with the melting of the nearby but now dormant volcano Cotacachi, and then fed into the rainwater and hydrothermal vents. Has a depth of approximately 146 m and the mirror of water is at an altitude of 3 061 m. This caldera lake has clear turquoise waters, which change hue according to the wind direction and angle of the sun.

Cuicocha is an active volcano and is considered the fourth most dangerous volcano in Ecuador, after Chalupas volcanoes, and Pululahua Quilotoa but before the volcano Cotopaxi. Besides its common volcanic activity, also causes sudden explosions indirect gases are released through vents sublagunares. This volcanic activity can be seen in the emerging gas bubbles and some dead vegetation on the banks of the lagoon.

Cuicocha is a caldera 3.2 km in diameter and 9 km perimeter of conical structure (without edge) with five domes composed of lava and volcanic rock, four of them distributed in pairs on two islands in the middle of the lake and one on the wall of the boiler. The small islet of 0.26 km2, is called "José María Yerobi" and larger, 0.41 km2, Teodoro Wolf. Among the union of these two islands there is a channel called "The Dream of the Canal," which has a depth of approximately 70 to 18 m, where formerly arrived Caranquis (Faces) and later the Incas for their sacrifices and offerings to Sun and Moon.

The islets have exuberant vegetation, with over 400 species that have developed on the volcanic lava. There are different species at different heights, starting at the shores up to the hilltop. Among the most interesting plants are: ten varieties of orchids, bromeliads, parasite plants, rosewood, myrtle, red cedar, “suro” (bamboo), and “puma maqui”, of which the wood is used to make kitchen utensils, guitars, and “charangos”. From time to time, animals such as the “soche” (miniature mountain deer), mountain “cuy” (Guinea pig, from which the name of Cuicocha stems), mountain rabbit, armadillo, skunk, Andean fox, and “chucuri” (weasel) can be seen.  This is also the perfect place for birdwatching of species such as turtledoves, wood pigeons, hummingbirds, sparrows, blackbirds, owls, and occasionally the king of the Andes, the condor.