Hiking Upper Cajas National Park - Cuenca Ecuador

Hiking Upper Cajas National Park just a short drive from Cuenca Ecuador is an otherworldly experience that makes it hard to believe you’re still in Ecuador. If you’re looking for things to do in Cuenca, this should be near the top of your list.

Edwin picked us up about 9:30AM and the drive took us about 45 minutes to reach the check in station.

Entry into Upper Cajas National Park is free, but we did have to sign in at the building by the parking lot before venturing down the trail toward the lake.

We followed Ruta 1 Rosada, which was an easy/intermediate trail. There was quite a bit of elevation gain and loss with a few spots that were quite difficult to traverse so I would consider it intermediate, not easy.

We saw lots of mushrooms and beautiful flowers, but this lone yellow flower set against a dark backdrop was truly stunning. These circus flowers were also visually captivating. (Image on the right side)

Edwin was nice enough to hike up the 1,000 foot incline at the end of the hike to get the van. My legs haven’t fully recovered from the nerve damage so they were very weak by that point. Edwin sent us down the hill to the lower parking lot where he picked us up. If you need a safe and reliable driver who speaks fluent English and really takes care of his clients, Contact Us for an email introduction.

Hiking in Upper Cajas National Park is an unforgettable experience. You can keep it easy by hiking around the lake that’s a short walk from the parking lot, you can do the intermediate hike that we did, or you can climb up a mountain and scramble across boulders. There’s something for everyone, including exotic bird watching.

See More: Cuenca Parks

Watch us Hiking in Upper Cajas National Park in Cuenca Ecuador

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JP Stonestreet

Hola todos! Welcome to my author bio page! Let's see. Where to begin... I grew up in the country on a lake outside a small Kansas farm town. As soon as I could, I got the hell outta there! Since then, I've lived and/or worked in Kansas City, Washington D.C., Denver, San Francisco, and Ecuador. I started and sold a dotcom, wrote a book about it, started a YouTube channel, and now I write a lot. Amelia and I have embraced the Unconventional Life and we want to help you do it, too!