Swimming the San Pablo Lake

A different crossing for the adventurous

The San Pablo Lake is the Ecuadorian biggest natural lake, located in the Imbabura province, about 5 minutes away from the Otavalo city. It is placed at almost 2662 m. It is at the foot of the majestic Imbabura Volcano (4640 m.). Its maximum length reaches about 3600 m.

The San Pablo Lake is the scenario of various types of activities. Some of these include crossing the lake on a boat, or just enjoying the panoramic view of the lake while drinking a hot coffee in one of the hostel locations at the shore.

Another activity, suitable of those who love sports and are experienced swimmers, is crossing the lake swimming. The most popular swimming cross competition of the lake happens in the context of the Yamor festival- a cultural and religious celebration that takes place in Otavalo during the first days of September -. Other competitions take place here throughout the year, and the lake is also the scenario for swimmers who just want to practice their swimming, get more comfortable in open waters, or get prepared for other competitions.

Regardless of its altitude, and generally cold environment, the San Pablo lake is a pretty friendly place to swim in. If you target a sunny day for your practice, you will probably find a calm lake, and temperature tolerable enough to swim without a wetsuit (about 18ºC to 19ºC). Even on cloudy and cold days, the lake can be crossed without neoprene on.

For safety reasons, it is highly recommendable that you rent a boat to follow you while swimming; not only will this help you in case you face an emergency in the water, but will also serve for orientation purposes, so you can have in the boat a reference point and swim in the correct direction.

How to get there

The San Pablo Lake is relatively easy to access; you can get there by car or by bus. By car, it could take about 1 hour and a half from Quito, Ecuador’s capital city. If you are staying at Quito and are on a tight schedule during your trip, you could perfectly fit your visit to the lake in just one day, going there early in the morning, and returning in the afternoon.

The San Pablo Lake has various accesses. One of them is through the “Eugenio Espejo” passing, by the “Old dock”, from where many of the swimmers start their practices. Following the way along the Lake’s perimeter, you will find other accesses to the lake, including one through the Araque’s community, where there is an aquatic park with plenty of attractions for tourists and visitors.