Cerro de la Muerte

Hit it perfectly in late January — clear from the pass at 5:30am, two oceans visible simultaneously before 7am. Three resplendent quetzals in the oak trees above the road within the first hour. This is why the birders get up at 3am. On a perfect day it justifies every superlative. The problem is that perfect days are not common.

We arrived in fog and left in fog but the forest walk along the páramo was extraordinary regardless. The quetzal habitat is right there above the road — the ecosystem alone is worth the visit even when visibility is zero. Dress warmer than you think: we had heavy jackets and were still cold. The wind at 3,400 metres is serious.

Third time I've tried this and third time it was completely fogged in. The road is genuinely dangerous in thick mist — slow trucks, sheer drops, no visibility. The landscape is interesting even in cloud but we couldn't see past 30 metres the whole time. I'll try again in December. This place requires patience and luck in equal measure.

Beautiful concept, difficult execution. Even in dry season the summit clouds over by mid-morning and the afternoons are reliably clouded. The birding is real — we saw a quetzal in mist which was surreal and strangely moving — but the "see both oceans" experience requires a specific combination of season, time, and weather that most visits won't deliver.