Cayambe, extinct, craterless volcano of the Andes Mountains, located in northern Ecuador, almost directly at the equator. Cayambe’s elevation of 5,790 m (18,996 ft) makes it the third highest point in Ecuador and the world’s tallest peak lying almost directly on the equator.

Farmers in the village of Cayambe, nestled at the northwest foot of the mountain, produce many varieties of high-quality cheese and other dairy goods. The west side of the massive, perpetually snowcapped mountain flanks the much-traveled road between Quito and the market town of Otavalo. East of Cayambe, the vast Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve stretches toward the Ecuadorian rain forest.