The Best Hikes in Podocarpus National Park From Loja and Zamora

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

The park has valleys, slopes, mountains, glacial lakes, paramo, cloud forests, thickets, rivers and hills. This nationwide park has a lot more than 622 registered species (such as about 37% of the birds in the region), which is why it is regarded as one particular of the richest places for birdlife in the world with mountain turkeys, rock roosters, parrots, hummingbirds, high-altitude toucans, tanagers, various species of raptors, torcaza, the eagle, woodpecker, bearded turkey, zumba, blackbird, Andean gull, dog hen and the guajalito.

There are also far more than 4,000 species of flora, of which 40% of them are endemic, that means it only exists in this area and you can not locate them everywhere else in the environment.

Other animals that you can uncover in the park are pygmy deer, puma, numerous 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 four significant species in hazard of extinction: the jaguar, the mountain tapir, the northern pudú and the spectacled Andean bear.

Close to Podocarpus there are various added purely natural parts that are value going to which include Yacuri National Park and the Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve, which belong to the Podocarpus – El Cóndor Biosphere Reserve. 

What tends to make the park distinctive is the combination of the dry vegetation from the Coastline, the humid vegetation of the significant Andes and the forests of the Amazon, offering a fantastic variety of species. Some of the most popular matters to do in the Podocarpus National Park are hiking, biking, bird observing, horseback using and tenting.

The Podocarpus Countrywide Park is found in between the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe (70%) and Loja (30%). The park can be achieved by way of the town of Loja or by way of the town of Zamora. If you go from Loja, you entry the Cajanuma Administrative Centre. Even though if you pay a visit to from Zamora, you get there by using Bombuscaro.

Entrance to the park is cost-free and is open 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 finest time to check out Podocarpus National Park?

The most effective time to take a look at Podocarpus Nationwide Park is from September to December, when the temperature is warmer and there is less prospect of rain, great for the hiking trails.

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

The perfect packing checklist for Podocarpus Countrywide Park all depends on what place of the park you program to go to. If you pay a visit to Loja you ought to use warm clothing, a poncho, a water-resistant jacket and closed-toe shoes, but if you go via Zamora it is sensible to put on mild watertight outfits and water footwear. 

• H2o
• Heat clothing (in circumstance you go to the Lojano side of the park)
• Insect repellent
• Sunscreen
• Hat
• Treats
• Eyeglasses
• Water-resistant jacket
• Hiking shoes

How to get to Podocarpus Nationwide Park?

There are two most important entrances to Podocarpus Nationwide Park. If you want to pay a visit to the decreased aspect of the park, you have to go from Zamora together the Bombuscaro road for 7 kilometers until finally you attain the parking good deal and observe the route that usually takes you to the park refuge.

If you want to take a look at the higher segment of the park, you have to go from Loja alongside the street to Vilcabamba, continuing on for 15 kilometers until finally you attain the first checkpoint, and from there generate on 9 a lot more kilometers to the Refuge from the Administrative Centre. 

Podocarpus Nationwide Park – Loja 

Getting into by the Administrative Center of Cajanuma, there are a range of small and extensive hikes, such as traveling to the Lagunas del Compadre, which are 14 kilometers from the administrative middle. The administrative middle in Cajanuma has a conference space, cabins, a tenting spot, bathrooms and four assigned trails. If you are not intrigued in tenting inside of the park, don’t fret, you can continue to be in the shelter wherever there are 5 rooms, which expense $3.00 USD for every particular person per night.

The four mountaineering trails from Cajanuma

Spectacled Bear: On this trail you walk by means of the cloud forest and can take pleasure in the flora and fauna. On this trail there are several information signals about the fauna and flora of the park.  Distance: 400 meters | Problem: Minimal

Cloud Forest: This trail goes close to the foot of the mountain array and returns to the to start with refuge, giving you the opportunity to get pleasure from the cloud forest and see a amazing watch from its pure viewpoint. Length: 700 meters | Problem: Very low

The Viewpoints: In this hike you go by the cloud forest and the paramo to attain the viewpoints that give a panoramic look at of the valleys of Loja, Vilcabamba and Malacatos. Distance: 5 kilometers | Difficulty: Difficult 

Lagunas del Compadre: These lagoons are the most important tourist attraction of the Podocarpus Countrywide Park, it is a very long route that ends in the lagoons. Maintain in head that it normally takes at minimum two days to do this route, considering that its 14.5km distance is only just one way. You can camp but you require to sign-up with the park rangers. It is recommended to stop by the lagoons in the months of November and December, with the cheapest likelihood of rain and you can camp on the shore of the lagoons. In this sector you can with any luck , see the mountain tapir and the moor wolf. Distance: 14.5 Kilometers | Issue: Difficult 

Podocarpus Countrywide Park – Zamora (Bombuscaro)

In Buscaro there is an environmental interpretation centre and a multipurpose room for educational pursuits. From this aspect of the park you can stop by a few trails, but to get to the initial refuge you need to park and climb a kilometer uphill.

La Poderosa Waterfall: A lovely trail by the tropical jungle that usually takes you to an impressive waterfall that will leave you breathless. You can take a dip into the pool at the foundation of the waterfall and cool off. Length: 500 meters | Problem: Medium

El Mirador: From the viewpoint you can recognize the town of Zamora and the mountains that surround it. Distance: 1 Kilometer | Issues: Medium

Higuerones: You stroll through a stunning orchid back garden and see the Bombuscaro River. You will have a fantastic chance to see birds along the way. This tour can choose quite a few several hours.  Length: 2 Kilometers | Problem: Medium

La Chismosa Waterfall: Small waterfall positioned just 200 meters from the environmental interpretation middle, down some methods. Difficulty: Straightforward

Podocarpus Countrywide Park – Yangana – Valladolid

Cerro Toledo Viewpoint: It is a organic viewpoint positioned 12 kilometers from the Yangana road to Valladolid with a breathtaking view of the forest and the Andes Mountains. It is an great put to notice various kinds of birds.

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