National Parks
Protected Areas
National Parks
Protected Areas
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Cajas National Park
The Parque Nacional Cajas has an surface of 28.808 hectars and was created the 04/071977 with the Registro Oficial A203-317.
The park is situated in the province of Azuay and the administration of the park is realized by the Corporation Municipal Parque Nacional Cajas, wich also manages the Centro de Interpretación of the park La Toreadora.
The Parque Nacional Cajas is at only 33 km of distance from Cuenca, and there are different access into the park from Cuenca.
In the Cajas National Park you can realize different activities: walks, horseriding, camping, sportfishing and birdwatching.
The park is known because of its big number of ponds (lagunas). The animals easily sighed in the park by visitors are rabbits, ducks and trouts. There are also deers (venado de cola blanca), bears (oso de anteojos), pumas and the Andintapir (tapir andino). The most important birds are Caracara, Cóndor and the Tucán andino.
Parque Nacional Cajas
The park has more than 230 ponds
Protected Areas, Reservates and National Parks in Ecuador Foto: ETAPA
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Cuenca is the capital of the province of Azuay. Cuenca is only 33 km from the Cajas National Park.
The Cajas National Park remains at a height from 3,152 masl to 4,445 masl, considered paramo alto.
Precipitation is 1,000 to 2,000 mm, the temperature varies between -2 to 18 ° C, and the climate is very varied between sun, fog, drizzle and frost.
In the Cajas National Park are the springs of the Tomebamba, Mazán, Yanuncay and Migüir rivers.
There are more than 800 ponds and sees of different sizes, the best known are Lagartococha, Osohuaycu, Mamamag or Taitachungo, Quinoascocha, Tinguishcocha, La Toreadora, Sunincocha, Cascarillas, and Ventanas.
On the shore of the Lagartococha lagoon you can camp and practice sport fishing.
Flora
The park's vegetation is mainly composed of tree and shrub species, a great diversity of orchids, ferns and mosses.
There are forest formations of Polylepis, qiwuña, "quinoa" or "paper tree", sarar, and pichul.
Wildlife
You can find white-tailed deer, spectacled bear, puma, huri, yaguarundí, rabbits, the Andean tapir, and the llama has been reintroduced.
The most viewed birds are the caracara, the condor, the Andean toucan, ducks and hummingbirds.
