The Antisana Ecological Reserve lies in the Central Highlands, on the foothills of the 5705 meter glacier covered peak of the volcano Antisana. This reserve is privately owned and regulated, but its goal is the preservation of the native flora and fauna of the Andean paramo. Below approximately 3000 meters, the native flora is shrubs, orchids and other specially adapted plants. Above an altitude of 4800 meters very little vegetation exists, as this area is covered with snow year-round. Between 3600 & 4800 meters, however, we entered a habitat called the paramo, in which the plant and animal life are both highly adapted to the extreme conditions which are the norm here. Due to the high winds that regularly sweep this habitat, nothing taller than the grass and low lying succulents are found in the open. Even hardy, high altitude shrubs are found only in crevices and stream beds hidden from the wind. Plants in this habitat are pollinated by beetles or by birds, as the winds are too strong for flying insects.
The trip to the Antisana Ecological Reserve includes a ride to approximately 4000 meters above the sea level  where rolling meadows, occasional ravines with taller vegetation, and a meadow/marsh of pillow moss bordering a highland lake is found. The pillow moss is so named because it forms unbroken hump-like pillows of vegetation that may cover acres of land. Its bird life includes the Andean gull, Caracaras, ducks, several species of hummingbirds and if  lucky,  the Andean condor.