Close to Cuenca, there is one of Ecuador's many national parks, the Parque Nacional El Cajas. The park is said to be lovely for multi-day hikes, but since I'm not really into camping, I chose to explore it on a one-day tour.
The highest point we visited in the park, at 4300 meters of altitude, is a very interesting point: the water divide. All water to the west of this point ends up in the Pacific, the water east of it in the Atlantic.
This is the view from up there, looking to the Pacific side, I believe:
Although the landscape looks rather brownish from afar, there is an incredible richness in plants and flowers. Many of them are medicinal plants, others are venomous, and others are simply cute, like this tiny ball-shaped flower:
The park has over 200 lakes, and more than 700 minor pools of water. We did a small hike to explore two of the bigger lakes. This is lake Pataquinoa:
And this one is called Totora - named for the totora plants growing in the lake. The sound of the reeds quietly rustling in the wind made the lake feel utterly peaceful and tranquil.
A little further, we saw mushrooms growing on some of the moss-covered stones. I loved their shape and colors:
At lunch, we were served Canelazo, the typical drink of the highlands. Made from sugarcane liquor and cinnamon, it instantly became my new favorite drink - can't resist beverages containing cinnamon ;-)
The highest point we visited in the park, at 4300 meters of altitude, is a very interesting point: the water divide. All water to the west of this point ends up in the Pacific, the water east of it in the Atlantic.
This is the view from up there, looking to the Pacific side, I believe:
Although the landscape looks rather brownish from afar, there is an incredible richness in plants and flowers. Many of them are medicinal plants, others are venomous, and others are simply cute, like this tiny ball-shaped flower:
The park has over 200 lakes, and more than 700 minor pools of water. We did a small hike to explore two of the bigger lakes. This is lake Pataquinoa:
And this one is called Totora - named for the totora plants growing in the lake. The sound of the reeds quietly rustling in the wind made the lake feel utterly peaceful and tranquil.
A little further, we saw mushrooms growing on some of the moss-covered stones. I loved their shape and colors:
At lunch, we were served Canelazo, the typical drink of the highlands. Made from sugarcane liquor and cinnamon, it instantly became my new favorite drink - can't resist beverages containing cinnamon ;-)
