After my short tour of the city of Cuenca, I decided to go for the trip that I had planned, El Cajas National Park.
The name “Cajas” is derived from the Quichua word “cassa” meaning “gateway to the snowy mountains”. or “caxa” (Quichua:cold). It has also been linked to the Spanish word “cajas” (boxes)
To get to the Cajas we must take a bus that goes along the Cajas route to Guayaquil and after an hour’s journey on the way, the bus left me at the park entrance, it’s known as La Toreadora. The cost of the bus is $1,50.
I arrived at the entrance of the park and I saw the beautiful landscape of one of its lagoons, it tells me that I must go through it all.
The first thing that I had to do was register, In my case, I gave my ID, foreign people give their passport and nationality.
I started my tour and I found a viewpoint where you can admire all the beauty of this site. One of the things that surprised me was that I was able to download an application on my cell phone called Cajas National Park which will indicate all the routes and the information we want to know about the park, this information is written in Spanish and English.
You can entry to the park at 8 am and the departure is at 16:30. If you want to camp you can do it in a camping area, you have to cancel a value of $ 4 for foreigners, $ 2 for national visitors and children under 16, $ 1.
I started my journey seeing two roads, Garcia Moreno and La Toreadora so I decided to make the García Moreno path. This road had a distance of 2.46 km. When you finished this road and if you want to continue from here you need a guide who knows the road because we can get lost. It lasts approximately 1h30 minutes. The other road called La Toreadora with a distance of 2.82 km and almost two hours by walk. Following this path, you can reach the camping area, a large space where you can place your tent and enjoy this beautiful landscape.
The park has a total of 15 routes that can be done. There are roads that must be done with a guide because it is very easy to get lost. There are 235 lagoons and the biggest lagoon is La Toreadora.
The Cajas National Park is home to a large variety of animals, some of which are endemic or highly endangered. Also, there are pumas, coatis, weasels, skunks, foxes, porcupines, pacas, shrews, rabbits, and other rodents.
I would like to know more about all these roads but I will need more time, the cold especially in this place is very intense you have to wear a windbreaker coat, sports shoes, gloves, and a cap. Use sunscreen and bring water to hydrate properly.
One of the most beautiful places for its landscape and lagoons is the Cajas, you have to know each of its paths and admire its flora and wildlife. I will have to go back and walk the other roads of the Cajas and its surroundings. This beautiful place makes Ecuador a country that deserves to be discovered, only enjoy it.
Watch this trip on my YouTube Channel and don’t forget to subscribe to it:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iwovGOYl3c[/embedyt]
