Written: Cuenca, Ecuador
Cajas National Park straddles the continental divide in the Andes just west of Cuenca. It is known for its highland paramo landscape — largely open grassland and scrub vegetation, not entirely unlike our northern tundra, and also for its many lakes, which provide 60% of Cuenca’s drinking water.
Although you can take a local bus up there and hike on your own, I opted to go on a hiking tour with a local guide, partly for easier access to areas I couldn’t get to on my own, and partly for safety — hiking at that elevation can be dangerous. The starting point was at around 4,200 metres or roughly 13,000 feet. At that elevation, altitude sickness is a strong possibility. One young woman in our group did experience symptoms, as she had recently come from sea level on the coast. Although I found Quito rough when I first arrived, I’ve now had over a week to acclimatize and all I experienced was shortness of breath on the steep ascents. In fact I was hyperventilating at times to get enough oxygen.
The open space is deceiving — there is a wealth of plant life. Most unusual were occasional forests of twisty trees — looking very enchanted and fairy tale like. These are apparently the highest forests in the world, and they cling to rocky sheltered ridges.
At one point we saw a mother alpaca and young son (see photos) and there were some interesting birds, but as for other animals, the only evidence of foxes etc. were droppings. Some in our group saw a condor in the distance, but I missed it.
The finale was dining on Canadian rainbow trout, which has been brought in to stock many of the lakes. Kind of ironic to travel to Ecuador to eat Canadian trout.
The Inca ruins at Ingapirca are closed due to a dispute between the indigenous peoples and the government, so I’m off tomorrow to Baños, another old hippie favourite known for its hot springs, active volcano, and excellent walks.
