El Cajas National Park - Ecuador

TEXT: P. VIROT / MOON TRAVEL
PHOTOS: WHIB / P. VIROT

Some of the most varied and spectacular scenery in the country fills this reserve, whose proximity to Cuenca – only one hour’s drive west – helps make it one of the most popular outdoor destinations in the area. El Cajas’s 70,000 acres shelter everything from cloud forest to rocky lunar landscapes, but it’s the lakes (more than 200 of them) scattered among jagged peaks that characterize the reserve best. Despite its proximity to Cuenca, it’s an easy place to find a surprising amount of solitude, whether you’re here for the hiking or trout fishing. Most of El Cajas lies above 3,000 meters, with páramo covering most of the rugged terrain. Frost and ice above 4,000 meters try their best to deter the thriving of hardy vegetation such as the tiny quinua tree, clinging to life higher than any other tree in the world. Look for these 200-year-old specimens tucked up against hillsides in pockets of primary forest, clothed in a green palette of mosses and ferns and fighting each other for sunlight.