The Best Hikes in Podocarpus National Park From Loja and Zamora

Podocarpus Nationwide Park is just one of the most beautiful countrywide parks in Ecuador owing to its topography and location in the Eastern Ranges of the Andes Mountains in southern Ecuador. The park contains ecosystems inside of the Sierra and the Ecuadorian Amazon. Its altitude ranges from 900 to 3,600 meters over sea degree. Podocarpus was declared a countrywide park on December 15, 1982, a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2007 and in 2012 it was declared a Ramsar site, for wetlands conservation.

The park has valleys, slopes, mountains, glacial lakes, paramo, cloud forests, thickets, rivers and hills. This nationwide park has extra than 622 registered species (which includes above 37% of the birds in the country), which is why it is recognised as 1 of the richest destinations for birdlife in the entire world with mountain turkeys, rock roosters, parrots, hummingbirds, substantial-altitude toucans, tanagers, many species of raptors, torcaza, the eagle, woodpecker, bearded turkey, zumba, blackbird, Andean gull, puppy chook and the guajalito.

There are also extra than 4,000 species of flora, of which 40% of them are endemic, indicating it only exists in this area and you cannot locate them any where else in the environment.

Other animals that you can discover in the park are pygmy deer, puma, many deer, páramo wolf, tigrillo, tapir, spectacled bear, spider monkeys, tapirs, cutines, jambatos, glass frogs, the anolis podocarpus lizard, the opossum, the marsupial mouse, the polynivorous bat, the American tiger, pudú, cervicabra, preñadilla, sardines, foxes, squirrels and the chucuri. In the park there are 4 major species in risk of extinction: the jaguar, the mountain tapir, the northern pudú and the spectacled Andean bear.

In close proximity to Podocarpus there are a number of further natural areas that are worth viewing such as Yacuri National Park and the Cerro Plateado Organic Reserve, which belong to the Podocarpus – El Cóndor Biosphere Reserve. 

What can make the park special is the mixture of the dry vegetation from the Coast, the humid vegetation of the significant Andes and the forests of the Amazon, delivering a excellent range of species. Some of the most widespread points to do in the Podocarpus National Park are climbing, biking, bird looking at, horseback driving and camping.

The Podocarpus Nationwide Park is positioned in between the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe (70%) and Loja (30%). The park can be attained by the town of Loja or by means of the city of Zamora. If you go from Loja, you entry the Cajanuma Administrative Heart. Whilst if you go to from Zamora, you arrive by way of Bombuscaro.

Entrance to the park is cost-free and is open up everyday from 08:00 AM to 5:00 PM. You will have to sign up at the entrance to the park at the rangers’ refuge.

When is the very best time to pay a visit to Podocarpus National Park?

The most effective time to check out Podocarpus Countrywide Park is from September to December, when the weather conditions is hotter and there is a lot less prospect of rain, perfect for the climbing trails.

What to provide or pack to check out the Podocarpus Nationwide Park?

The fantastic packing list for Podocarpus National Park all relies upon on what region of the park you prepare to check out. If you go to Loja you should really have on heat apparel, a poncho, a water resistant jacket and shut-toe shoes, but if you go through Zamora it is sensible to dress in mild water resistant clothes and drinking water sneakers. 

• Drinking water
• Warm clothes (in circumstance you go to the Lojano facet of the park)
• Insect repellent
• Sunscreen
• Hat
• Snacks
• Glasses
• Watertight jacket
• Mountaineering sneakers

How to get to Podocarpus Countrywide Park?

There are two primary entrances to Podocarpus Countrywide Park. If you want to pay a visit to the decreased portion of the park, you have to go from Zamora alongside the Bombuscaro highway for 7 kilometers until you achieve the parking lot and stick to the route that will take you to the park refuge.

If you want to take a look at the higher part of the park, you have to go from Loja alongside the street to Vilcabamba, continuing on for 15 kilometers until you achieve the very first checkpoint, and from there drive on 9 much more kilometers to the Refuge from the Administrative Center. 

Podocarpus Nationwide Park – Loja 

Entering via the Administrative Center of Cajanuma, there are a range of small and long hikes, this kind of as viewing the Lagunas del Compadre, which are 14 kilometers from the administrative heart. The administrative heart in Cajanuma has a conference home, cabins, a tenting space, bathrooms and 4 assigned trails. If you are not intrigued in tenting inside the park, really do not fear, you can continue to be in the shelter exactly where there are 5 rooms, which value $3.00 USD for every particular person per night.

The four hiking trails from Cajanuma

Spectacled Bear: On this path you stroll by the cloud forest and can recognize the flora and fauna. On this path there are many information and facts indicators about the fauna and flora of the park.  Length: 400 meters | Difficulty: Low

Cloud Forest: This path goes all over the foot of the mountain assortment and returns to the 1st refuge, providing you the prospect to take pleasure in the cloud forest and see a impressive check out from its all-natural viewpoint. Length: 700 meters | Problems: Reduced

The Viewpoints: In this hike you pass as a result of the cloud forest and the paramo to arrive at the viewpoints that give a panoramic view of the valleys of Loja, Vilcabamba and Malacatos. Distance: 5 kilometers | Issues: Difficult 

Lagunas del Compadre: These lagoons are the principal vacationer attraction of the Podocarpus Countrywide Park, it is a lengthy route that finishes in the lagoons. Maintain in mind that it usually takes at the very least two days to do this route, since its 14.5km length is only a single way. You can camp but you need to sign-up with the park rangers. It is highly recommended to stop by the lagoons in the months of November and December, with the least expensive opportunity of rain and you can camp on the shore of the lagoons. In this sector you can ideally see the mountain tapir and the moor wolf. Distance: 14.5 Kilometers | Issues: Difficult 

Podocarpus Nationwide Park – Zamora (Bombuscaro)

In Buscaro there is an environmental interpretation centre and a multipurpose area for academic actions. From this side of the park you can check out 3 trails, but to get to the to start with refuge you have to park and climb a kilometer uphill.

La Poderosa Waterfall: A wonderful path by means of the tropical jungle that will take you to an impressive waterfall that will go away you breathless. You can consider a dip into the pool at the base of the waterfall and awesome off. Length: 500 meters | Problems: Medium

El Mirador: From the viewpoint you can enjoy the metropolis of Zamora and the mountains that surround it. Length: 1 Kilometer | Problem: Medium

Higuerones: You stroll through a lovely orchid garden and see the Bombuscaro River. You will have a wonderful likelihood to see birds together the way. This tour can take quite a few several hours.  Distance: 2 Kilometers | Issue: Medium

La Chismosa Waterfall: Small waterfall located just 200 meters from the environmental interpretation middle, down some measures. Difficulty: Simple

Podocarpus Countrywide Park – Yangana – Valladolid

Cerro Toledo Viewpoint: It is a pure viewpoint found 12 kilometers from the Yangana highway to Valladolid with a breathtaking look at of the forest and the Andes Mountains. It is an excellent put to notice diverse styles of birds.

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