Overview
Cajas National Park is a high-altitude area west of Cuenca, Ecuador. It’s known for trails through evergreen cloud forests and hundreds of lakes, such as Laguna Toreadora.
Description
It’s also home to rich wildlife including Andean condors, giant hummingbirds and raccoon-like coatis. Just outside the park, the Santuario de la Vírgen del Cajas is an outdoor pilgrimage site where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared. Parque Nacional Cajas, only 30km west of Cuenca, encompasses 2854 sq km of golden-green moor-like páramo (mountainous Andean grasslands) dotted with hundreds of chilly lakes that shine like jewels against a rough, otherworldly countryside.