Podocarpus National Park is one of the jewels of Southern Ecuador and is named after the Podocarpus tree, the only native conifer in the Ecuadorian Andes. Spanning 1,462 square kilometers of Andean cloud forest, the park hosts five different microclimates and provides drinking water for Loja, Zamora and a number of smaller towns in the region. The park ranges from 900 to 3,600 meters and is home to toucans, spectacled bears, mountain tapers, and pigmy deer; 97% of the park’s fauna is invertebrate.
There are two main access points to the park: from Loja and from Zamora. To access the high zone, travel 15 kilometers along the highway between Loja and Vilcabamba until you reach the Cajanuma Ranger Station.
From this point head 8.5 kilometers along a smaller road until you reach the administration center. From here there are four main trails: “Oso de Anteojos,” 400 meters, moderately steep and easily accessible; “El Bosque Nublado,” 750; meters long, and “El Mirador,” 1.5 km long are both of medium difficulty. For a day long hike, you can continue along “El Mirador” for 3.5 km, however some parts of this trail are very difficult. The “Lagunas del Compadre Trail” is 15.5 km, one way, and very steep. For this trail you must bring good camping gear and warm waterproof clothes, and for your safety, advise the park that you will be hiking this trail. The access to the low zone is 6.8 km from Zamora. The last 0.8 km you must hike along an easy trail to the Bombuscaro refuge, where there are four different trails. Two lead to waterfalls: “La Chismosa,” 200 meters, and “La Poderosa,” 450 meters. The other two trails are “La Urraquita,” 600 meters, and “Los Higuerones,” 3 km. All of these trails are intermediate level.