Puracé Volcano is roughly 15,000 feet above sea level and lies just outside of Coconuco, Cuaca, Colombia. The Volcano's last explosion (according to the infallible internet) was in 1977. The park ranger at the base told me it was in 1958 and that several geology students hiking to the summit were killed. Not sure who's right. A swiss traveler and I made the round trip trek from the base to the summit crater in about 5 hours. We got up at 3:30 am that morning to catch a crowded 4:30 am bus which got us to the base around 8:00am. After having some hot chocolate and cheese, we started up and were back down in time to have lunch with the park ranger. We saw some scary thunderclouds in the distance so we kept a brisk pace. Despite the looming rain, however, we caught some great sunshine and some pretty breathtaking views of the region.
Standing on the summit feels like being on the moon.
The squiggly trail up to the top. At more than one point my Swiss pal and I felt like Frodo and Samwise scrambling up Mt. Doom
The view from the top, roughly 4,600 meters above sea level.
The crater. It's deep.
The peak used to be snow capped but has since lost all snow cover. An unfortunate sign of global climate change...the silver lining being that the hike is a lot easier without snow.
Standing on the summit feels like being on the moon. 
The squiggly trail up to the top. At more than one point my Swiss pal and I felt like Frodo and Samwise scrambling up Mt. Doom
The view from the top, roughly 4,600 meters above sea level.
The crater. It's deep.
The peak used to be snow capped but has since lost all snow cover. An unfortunate sign of global climate change...the silver lining being that the hike is a lot easier without snow.
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