On our trip to Vilcabamba Ecuador, we stayed at the beautiful and relaxing Madre Tierra Resort and Spa. We also enjoyed a leisurely hike on the Rumi Wilco trail along Río Vilcabamba. And we ended our video with a night of bachata dancing with Johnny and Olesya.
We hope you can join us at our first unconventional social event in Cuenca on Wednesday. If you’re planning to attend, please RSVP on our Facebook Event so we can give our venue a headcount: https://www.facebook.com/events/459588591254423/
Vilcabamba Ecuador Madre Tierra Resort & Spa
We absolutely LOVED our time at Madre Tierra Resort & Spa in Vilcabamba Ecuador. The grounds were beautiful, our room was very comfortable, the food was delicious and the views were spectacular! If you book with them, tell them Amelia and JP sent you!
View from our Room at Madre Tierra Resort & Spa
On our second day in Vilcabamba, we awoke to sun and blue skies, with incredible views of the valley and mountains. I snapped these shots with my iPhone, but had no idea it would capture what we were seeing with such clarity. I didn’t edit any of these photos, but they still don’t look real!
Hiking Near Madre Tierra Resort & Spa
In addition to the Rumi Wilco hike we featured in the video, we also hiked along the gravel road in front of Madre Tierra Resort & Spa.
Madre Tierra is the pin just below the “P” in San Pedro in the map below. On Wednesday, we hiked west along the road and looped back into Vilcabamba for lunch.
The views along the road on a bright, sunny day were equally unbelievable to the views from our room. This is a photo of Montaña Mandango, known as the sleeping Inca by the indigenous people. You can hike all the way to the top of this mountain, but we’ve been told it’s a very difficult hike. Maybe we’ll do that on the next trip to Vilcabamba.
On Thursday, we hiked up the ridiculously steep road heading northwest from Madre Tierra and were rewarded with these views of the valley below.
Madre Tierra Resort & Spa Dining
As with most hotels and resorts, the vegan menu options were limited. However, they went out of their way to accommodate our dietary requirements with some very delicious food.
Hopefully you enjoyed our video, and if you did, please LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE it, and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel. ¡Muchas Gracias y Hasta Luego!
https://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Ep-120-Vilcabamba-Ecuador-Madre-Tierra-Amelia.jpg7201280JPhttps://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Amelia-JP-Unconventional-Logo.jpgJP2019-07-06 13:00:102019-07-12 16:24:59Vilcabamba Ecuador: Madre Tierra Resort Tour + Rumi Wilco Hike + Bachata Dancing (Episode 120)
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.
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.
Hopefully you enjoyed our video, and if you did, please LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE it, and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel. ¡Muchas Gracias y Hasta Luego!
https://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ep-79-This-Is-Ecuador.jpg7201280JPhttps://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Amelia-JP-Unconventional-Logo.jpgJP2019-03-14 13:59:522019-06-10 19:57:26Hiking in Upper Cajas National Park - Cuenca Ecuador (Episode 79)
We went on another hiking adventure just 40 minutes west of Cuenca Ecuador to Lower Cajas National Park. This area of the park is much different than Upper Cajas. It’s much greener with lots more trees. If you’re looking for things to do in Cuenca, this is a great activity that most people can do.
It took about 10 to 15 minutes to drive from highway 582 to the trailhead parking lot. It was free to enter, but we had to show our cedulas (or passports would work). There are no food services so bring your own snacks.
After a short 5 minute walk from the parking lot, the covered jungle trail opens up to Lake Llaviucu (pronounced ya-vē-oo-koo), a picturesque glacial mountain valley lake nestled between two high mountain ridges. Llaviucu is a Quechua name, which is the native language spoken by Ecuador’s first people.
The valley is dotted with boulders left by ancient glaciers.
The mountain views in Lower Cajas are simply amazing. Indescribable. My camera and video skills did NOT do it justice. You really have to see it for yourself, if you’re able.
Sometimes we felt like we were in the movie Avatar with the steep mountains above and clouds below the peak making them look like they were hovering over the earth.
Lower Cajas National Park is an alpine rainforest so it’s wet and humid, but a little chilly. We recommend taking multiple layers that are easy to put on and take off. The temperature varied quite a lot in the span of a few minutes from chilly to warm and from warm to chilly.
It was also quite muddy and slippery so be sure to take an extra pair of shoes and socks for the ride home (and a plastic bag to put the wet ones in), or some waterproof boots would be even better. Amelia stepped on what looked like a nice grassy area and sank up to her shins in mud. She just laughed like she always does when something like that happens. I would NOT have been happy!
We also spotted lots of beautiful flowers, and if you’re an orchid lover, this is the place to find wild ones. They were growing all over the trees!
We also saw this ancient Polylepis Tree. Edwin said it’s probably over 200 years old. They’re normally very small shrub-like trees.
Lower Cajas is home to wild llamas who were slightly curious about us, but mostly indifferent. We were able to get very close to them and they didn’t seem scared of us at all. Is it just me or do they remind you of French aristocrats from the 1800’s? Hopefully that doesn’t offend anyone 😬
The park is incredibly well-maintained. The trails are well travelled so they’re easy see, the docks on the lake and the walking bridges are in great condition, and we saw virtually no litter. I did pick up a button that could choke a llama, as well as some fishing line that could strangle a bird, but other than that, the park was very pristine.
Please, leave no trace fellow hikers.
Edwin has been in several of our videos now and he was elated to share Cajas with us. Ecuadorians are very proud of their country, as they should be.
Edwin is our friend and driver. In fact, he picked us up at the airport in Guayaquil when we first arrived in Ecuador. And he’s been driving us ever since. He’s super safe, extremely nice and very reliable. He also speaks fluent English. If you need a driver here in Cuenca and the surrounding areas, let us know and we’ll connect you with Edwin.
Hopefully you enjoyed our video, and if you did, please LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE it, and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel. ¡Muchas Gracias y Hasta Luego!
https://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Ep-72-Lower-Cajas-National-Park-Cuenca-Ecuador-1.jpg7201280JPhttps://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Amelia-JP-Unconventional-Logo.jpgJP2019-02-26 13:59:292019-06-10 19:56:18Hiking in Lower Cajas National Park near Cuenca Ecuador (Episode 72)
We hope you enjoy our Laguna de Busa Girón Ecuador Hiking and Waterfalls as much as we did! This is a SUPER relaxing video from our very enjoyable hike with Edwin.
NOTE: In the beginning of the video, Amelia said we went to visit Girón and asked if I enjoyed the natural beauty. However, we didn’t conjugate the verb “to enjoy” correctly. The past tense conjugation of “enjoy” in Spanish is “disfrutó” not “disfrutió”. Lo siento 🙁
We thoroughly enjoyed our day trip from Cuenca with Edwin driving through the picturesque Ecuadorian countryside, hiking around Laguna de Busa, doing a little scary rock climbing and hiking up to a waterfall outside of Girón, Ecuador.
If you’re near Cuenca Ecuador and need a reliable, safe driver who speaks fluent English, please let us know. We’d be happy to connect you with Edwin!
Laguna de Busa Girón Ecuador
It takes about 1 hour to get to from Cuenca to Girón, and another 3o minutes to drive up to San Fernando and Laguna de Busa.
Normally, the entrance fee to the Laguna de Busa Girón Ecuador park is $5 each, but it was a slow day and the attendant let us in for $1 each since we had our cedulas. She would have charged us $2 if we were foreigners (extranjeros).
The hike around the lake is idyllic with the boardwalk hovering above the marshes and views of the lake dotted with several different species of waterfowl. We even had a complimentary companion dog to escort us on our walk/hike. He was so adorable!
Ecuador is known for its beautiful flowers, which you can see on full display around Laguna de Busa Girón Ecuador.
At the far back corner of the lake, the trail divides and goes in two different directions. One direction heads back around the lake and the other heads up to the top of the mountain behind the lake.
The hike through the jungle behind the lake was beautiful, but very difficult. It was simply too steep for us, with too many rocks to climb. My hiking boots wouldn’t grip anything and I slipped and nearly fell several times. Edwin said it was pretty much like that on the entire hike, so we decided to turn around rather than risk injury. If you’re not very fit or lack hiking experience, stick to the boardwalk around the lake.
Girón Ecuador Waterfall
After we hiked around Laguna de Busa, we drove back down the mountain toward Girón to visit one of the many waterfalls in the area.
You’ll notice in the picture below, there are cows in the foreground with clouds in the background…both above and BELOW the cows! Ecuadorian clouds seem to defy the laws of nature, often appearing below and above us a the same time.
The waterfall outside Girón that we visited was in El Chorro. It was a short hike from the parking lot up well-maintained stairs. The entry fee was $1 each ($2 if you don’t have an Ecuadorian cedula).
Amelia really enjoyed this part of our tour. She found the waterfall and the 5 meter deep pool at the bottom of it very fascinating.
This rope bridge crossed the river, which was about 3 meters below. Amelia joked with me about walking across it “for the amazing video opportunity,” but thankfully the tiny gate had a lock on it. I could have easily stepped over the gate, but let’s not tell her that!
If you’re an orchid connoisseur, you’ll appreciate the abundance of orchids in Ecuador, and on this hike. They really do seem like alien plants, and they grow in the weirdest places.
You might also enjoy our hikes in Cajas National Park:
When we’re with Amelia’s family in Atlanta, hiking in Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is our favorite cardio activity. The scenery is breathtaking and the Civil War history is interesting, but it’s sad to think how many Americans died on this mountain fighting over the right to own another human being.
Some canons still remain, along with the trenches and embankments dug out by soldiers on both sides. It may be beautiful now and full of wildlife, it must have been hell on earth back in 1865.
Hopefully you enjoyed our video, and if you did, please LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE it, and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel. We really appreciate it.
https://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ep-37-Kennesaw-Mountain-National-Battlefield-Park.jpg7201280JPhttps://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Amelia-JP-Unconventional-Logo.jpgJP2018-12-08 15:37:362019-06-06 19:46:02Hiking in Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Marietta GA (Episode 37)
