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Full-Day Hiking Adventure: Small-Group Exploring in Cajas National Park
4.7
13 Ratings
Cuenca
Embark on a full-day hiking adventure in Cajas National Park. Explore the intercontinental water division, hike through the highlands, and discover the unique Polylepis Forest and Cajas lake system. Join our small group for an unforgettable outdoor experience!
Embark on a full-day hiking adventure in Cajas National Park. Explore the intercontinental water division, hike through the highlands, and discover the unique Polylepis Forest and Cajas lake system. Join our small group for an unforgettable outdoor experience!
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- El Cajas National Park - We start our tour with hotel pick ups in Cuenca. We drive for about an hour to Toreadora refuge from where we will take a hike in the highlands through the moorland ecosystem of wetlands and lakes to get to the unique forest of Polylepis trees. These are the highest growing trees in the world and are native to South…
- El Cajas National Park - We start our tour with hotel pick ups in Cuenca. We drive for about an hour to Toreadora refuge from where we will take a hike in the highlands through the moorland ecosystem of wetlands and lakes to get to the unique forest of Polylepis trees. These are the highest growing trees in the world and are native to South America.
The park includes approximately 768 lakes in an area of 70,533 acres. It is one of the most important water sources in Cuenca and Ecuador. It has gained international prominence in several categories: Wetland of International Importance in 2002 by RAMSAR, Area of International Importance for the Conservation of Birds by IBA in 2003, and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2013.
- Laguna Llaviucu - Afterward, we will explore the Llaviuco Cloud Forest where you will be able to appreciate the contrast of the park on our 1.5 hour hike. If we are lucky we might see Tucans. After a full-day adventure, we drive back to Cuenca.
We will stop at a local restaurant for lunch. The specialty is trout!
What's Included
- Lunch with trout option (selectable during booking)
- All taxes, fees, and handling charges included
- Expert Naturalist Tour Guide
- Exclusive Private Transportation
- Convenient Hotel Pickup and Drop-off
- Lunch with trout option (selectable during booking)
- All taxes, fees, and handling charges included
- Expert Naturalist Tour Guide
- Exclusive Private Transportation
- Convenient Hotel Pickup and Drop-off
What's Not Included
- Gratuities (Optional)
- Something not mentioned herein
- Gratuities (Optional)
- Something not mentioned herein
Additional Information
Join our small group for a hiking expedition in Cajas National Park! We’ll check out the intercontinental water division before heading to the Toreadora refuge, where we’ll embark on a journey through the highlands to investigate the Cajas lake system and the distinctive Polylepis Forest. After this, we’ll drop by the Llaviuco montane forest for another…
Join our small group for a hiking expedition in Cajas National Park! We’ll check out the intercontinental water division before heading to the Toreadora refuge, where we’ll embark on a journey through the highlands to investigate the Cajas lake system and the distinctive Polylepis Forest. After this, we’ll drop by the Llaviuco montane forest for another hiking adventure.
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required to operate shared tours. We reserve the right to cancel the tour if there are not at least 2 participants.
- Bookings made 48 hours prior the tour are subject to guide availability.
- Please contact us at [email protected] or WhatsApp +593-987-796-896 within 24 hours notice to reconfirm the tour and pick-up time.
- Vegetarian/Vegan/Gluten-Free/Lactose-Free options are available, please advise at time of booking if required.
- For 1 to 6 passengers, a bilingual guide will also be the driver. For more than 6 passengers, a driver and a bilingual guide will be provided. Max group size 15 passengers.
- Shared Tours hotel pickups commence prior to this time, you must contact the local service provider to verify your exact pickup time.
- Comfortable walking shoes and sun protection are recommended.
Location
El Cajas National Park
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(13 Ratings)
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Kayandtomk
Jun 2, 2024
Great day trip out of Cuenca! - Andres picked us up at our Airbnb!
Andres was a fantastic and knowledgeable guide! Parque Nacional Cajas was a beautiful pastoral setting where we learned about birds, plants, flowers, the lake and the history of the area.
Included in our trip was a stop at the continental divide with amazing views all around. From there we walked around a picturesque lake in Toreadora Refuge and our lack of breath reminded us that we were at high altitude. Andres took huffing and puffing in stride and slowed down our pace.
We had a good lunch at Estancia San Juan and were dropped off at our Airbnb happy with the day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Riccardo
Dec 28, 2022
Great discovery trip - Excellent pace, very prepared guides, and awesome views. Would recommend it but beware of altitude if you just come from sea level…
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R7260llelisabethh
Nov 29, 2022
A recommended and comprehensive insight - The communication in advance was clear, obliging and helpful for the preparation.
The transport in the minibus by Rudi was very professional and safe. I was picked up at my hotel on time and dropped off back in Cuenca's old town at the end of the tour.
I appreciated the first stop for coffee and bathroom close to the nationalpark's entrance. I had a freshly baked butter croissant at the café which was delicious. The coffee would have been as well, I suppose.
Our guide, Maria, gave us a warm welcome and guided us through the park and the day at the perfect pace. I was concerned that we would be going too fast regarding the altitude, but as it was mostly downhill and we took a lot of short breaks I had no problems and it was more like walking than hiking. You should wear hiking shoes and warm clothing, though, since it was very windy and muddy.
I learned a lot about the plants, animals, geology and history of the area and would consider Maria as a very knowledgeable guide. I also liked the fact, that we walked two very different routes.
I also liked that we went to a restaurant that serves local specialities. The potatoe soup was very nicely prepared and tasted good. I was happy, that there was a vegetarian option, but I was a bit disappointed that it was pasta with mushrooms, tomatoes and oregano. I would have prefered an Ecuadorian dish with potatoes or rice with vegetables. Also no dessert was included in the menu, but here was a small selection of cakes available.
Otherwise it was an all around nice day with a very chatty and interesting small group of 5, which I really enjoyed and would unreservedly recommend.
Many thanks and my best wishes to everyone involved!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ezekiel
Nov 29, 2022
Cajas Park Unique Beauty - This was a very interesting tour with a great guide (Maria Jose)! She showed us first the paramo or high mountain landscape. And it was very high, but the walk was fairly level and the plants were unique....many of them medicinal.. The views from that high are spectacular. Bring a hat and wear layers just in case. It was very windy and cool the day we went, but was warm and sunny in Cuenca. The second part of the tour was at a much lower elevation, with cloud forest vegetation. Equally beautiful. Lunch was fresh trout, nicely prepared. Thank you Maria for a great trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Encuentro0c
Apr 16, 2022
A very nice tour about nature - We really liked this tour, the guide was amazing and he taught us a lot about flowers, plants and history. The park is beautiful and the tour is very well organized. It is a must if you love nature.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sara_l
Jan 9, 2022
Adrian was the best guide - Adrian was extremely informed on the flora and fauna of the Cajas National Park. What an excellent tour and day of hiking. The views and the company were outstanding! Highly recommend and the trout lunch very tasty.
Review provided by Viator
Peehdhshs
Sep 19, 2021
Caja National park tour - Tour taken on 19/9 with Andres, very well organized, Andres is omniscent, he answered every question asked + add some interesting facts, so i can fully recomend this one
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nsk09
Jul 17, 2019
Excellent tour of Cajas national park. - Great tour of Cajas national park, Jaime knew so much about the local flora and fauna and pointed out so many neat things. He led us on hikes into beautiful forests that I would have never found otherwise. The forest was unlike anything I've seen and I've been to the Amazon and the Canada's temperate rainforests. The restaurant for lunch was also very nice.
Tip - pack a snack or two - the morning is long before lunch!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Camilla
Dec 31, 2018
Great Company with very knowlegeable guides - Our extended family of 9 booked 2 trips and transport between Cuenca and the coast with this company. They were excellent. On one full day trip we visited Ingapirca, Chordeleg, Gualaceo. On another we experienced Cajas National Park and a chocolate farm. We had 2 different guides and both guides enthusiasm and knowledge was outstanding. I would highly recommend this agency to travelers.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gbetegon
Jun 14, 2018
Excellent experience - We had a great time visiting Cajas and our guide Jaime was very knowledgeable and helpful. We usually hike by ourselves but appreciated having a guide in this case as it's pretty easy to get lost.
Javier was also extremely helpful booking the tour and providing any information. Would highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
