Cajas National Park

The mountain range between the Ecuadorian coast and Amazon region

I spent three months in Ecuador with Fernanda. We mainly stayed in Riobamba, the city where her family lives. From there, we travelled to other cities and parts of the country. We visited Quito, Baños, Quilotoa Lake, and Cuenca.

As I wrote in the previous article, we spent a week in Cuenca. The city is surrounded by the Andes mountains, and it is close to Cajas National Park, a high-altitude park with glacial lakes, hiking trails, and unique flora and fauna. We used the opportunity to visit this park and hike there.

Cajas National Park, located just 30 kilometres from Cuenca, is a breathtaking natural treasure known for its rugged beauty and ecological diversity. The park spans over 28,000 hectares and features a unique high-altitude Andean ecosystem, making it a paradise for nature lovers, hikers, and adventurers.

At the heart of Cajas are its glacially carved landscapes, dotted with more than 200 pristine lagoons and interconnected streams. The park's most famous lagoon, Laguna Toreadora, is a popular starting point for trails that vary in difficulty, from leisurely walks to challenging treks. These trails offer stunning views of mist-shrouded peaks, rolling páramo grasslands, and native Polylepis forests, often referred to as "paper trees" for their distinctive peeling bark.

The park is home to diverse species, including Andean condors, hummingbirds, and even elusive spectacled bears, its pristine waters host native trout.

The weather in Cajas National Park is famously unpredictable, with strong winds, thick fog, and sudden rain adding to the mystique of the location. Fernanda’s aunt suggested visiting the park in the morning because the weather is more favourable in that part of the day, so we went there after breakfast and came back in the afternoon.

We visited Mirador Tres Cruces (Three Crosses Viewpoint), one of the most iconic spots in Cajas National Park, offering breathtaking panoramic views of the park’s rugged landscapes. The mirador is perched at an altitude of about 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), the hike we did was not long, around a kilometre, but demanding because it was mainly uphill. This viewpoint marks a continental divide, separating watersheds that flow westward toward the Pacific Ocean from eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean via the Amazon River. Rainfall or snowmelt on the divide's western side will join rivers and streams descending toward Ecuador's coastal plains and eventually into the Pacific. On the eastern side, water flows into tributaries of the mighty Amazon River system, which eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean thousands of kilometres away.

The scenery from Tres Cruces is nothing short of spectacular. It was a clear day, and we marvelled at the sweeping views of the park’s undulating páramo, shimmering lagoons, and the dramatic peaks that define this high-altitude ecosystem.

The name "Tres Cruces" comes from the three wooden crosses erected at the site, steeped in cultural and historical significance. Traditionally, they serve as a memorial and are believed to offer spiritual protection to travellers braving the harsh Andean climate.

As you might have seen from the pictures it is a drought period in Cajas and Ecuador, the lagoons have low water and the landscape is dry. Even if I hadn’t seen it before it was sad to see it in this situation, because it was explained to me that this park is rich in water and normally it doesn’t have drought periods, even in this situation, I think that Mirador Tres Cruces is a must-visit destination within Cajas National Park, providing a profound sense of connection to the raw beauty of the Andes.

In general, the serene beauty and untouched wilderness of Cajas National Park connect me with Ecuador’s natural splendour, creating an unforgettable experience. I would have spent more time there, but Ecuador has many other beautiful places to explore and I’m sure I will go back in the future.

See you soon,

Flavio