The Podocarpus National Park is located in an area of great biodiversity and endemism in the southern region of Ecuador. This makes it a clear testimony to the influence of the mountains on tropical lands, one of the main reasons for Ecuador's extraordinary biodiversity. Many studies show that most of the country's biodiversity is packed at these intermediate heights, where the cold is not so extreme, and, instead, humidity, microclimates, and geographic barriers abound. The area where Podocarpus is located is considered a site of global importance for the conservation of biodiversity.
For this reason, along with other areas of the area such as the Yacuri National Park and the Cerro Silver Biological Reserve, since 2007 is part of the Podocarpus Biosphere Reserve – El Condor, an acknowledgement granted by UNESCO. This area houses a large area of moors, cloud forests and scrub areas, which is essential for the preservation and continuity of the ecosystems of southern Ecuador and northern Peru.
From Quito, Guayaquil and other cities you must reach the city of Loja for the high parts of the park or the city of Zamora for the lower parts.
From Loja:
To Cajanuma. Take the Via Loja – Vilcabamba for 15 kilometres until you reach the checkpoint. From this site you continue on a third order route until you reach the refuge from the administrative center (8.5 km).
To Bombuscaro. Take the Via Loja – Zamora (60 km). Here you continue south on a second order road (7 km) until you reach the beginning of a trail leading to the park.
El Florecimiento de los Guayacanes Saturday 22 February 2025
Tourism
