Rucu Pichincha, who was Mama Cotacachi's former lover, found out about the liaison and decided to punish her by taking away their child, Guagua Pichincha.
From the arrival platform at roughly 4, 000 metres it takes a couple of hours to hike up to the Pichincha's summit, Rucu ("old person" in the local Quechua language) just below 4, 700 metres.