Cayambe Coca National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

located along the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

about from

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

. The park encompasses an area of .

The reserve

The park includes two very different regions of Ecuador, the high altitude sierra with

Cayambe volcano Cayambe or Volcán Cayambe is a volcano in Ecuador, in the Cordillera Central, a range of the Ecuadorian Andes. It is located in Pichincha Province, some northeast of Quito. It is the third-highest mountain in Ecuador, at an elevation of above ...

and the hot, humid

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

of the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

as well as the intervening temperate cloud forest. There are three entrances, and the one chosen by the visitor will reflect which region they wish to visit because there are few tracks within the park. The entrance near the town of Cayambe in

Pichincha Province Pichincha () is a province of Ecuador located in the northern Sierra region; its capital and largest city is Quito. It is bordered by Imbabura and Esmeraldas to the north, Cotopaxi and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas to the south, Napo and ...

provides access to the mountain. The high level "Ruales-Oleas-Bergé Refuge" is a mountain hut with accommodation for those who wish to climb the volcano, while other attractions include lakes, waterfalls and forests. An entrance near

Papallacta Papallacta is a village at an altitude of in Napo Province, Ecuador. Its population is 635 as of 2022. Climate See also *List of highest towns by country A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in som ...

Napo Province Napo () is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Tena. The province contains the Napo River. The province is low developed without much industrial presence. The thick rainforest is home to many natives that remain isolated by preference, descend ...

provides access to the forests and lakelets in the Andean foothills and the

Páramo Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

, an area of tropical, montane vegetation above the treeline. A third entrance near Santa Rosa de Quijos provided access to the formerly spectacular

San Rafael Falls San Rafael Falls () was a waterfall on the Coca River in Sucumbíos and Napo, Ecuador. Standing high, it was the tallest and most powerful waterfall in Ecuador and a popular tourist attraction. The falls were located at the eastern boundary of ...

, once the highest waterfall in the country.

Fauna

Large birds such as the

Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a South American New World vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. It is found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America. With a maximum wingspan of and ...

and

variable hawk The variable hawk (''Geranoaetus polyosoma'') is a polymorphic species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is widespread and often common in open habitats in western and southern South America, including the Falkland Islands. Its taxo ...

are commonplace in the skies above the reserve.

Spectacled bear The spectacled bear (''Tremarctos ornatus''), also known as the South American bear, Andean bear, Andean short-faced bear or mountain bear and locally as jukumari ( Aymara and Quechua), ukumari ( Quechua) or ukuku, is a species of bear native to ...

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

es, and

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

are some of the larger animals of the reserve. Páramo rabbits and

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

s are among the smaller fauna. There are 106 species of mammals, including the

mountain tapir The mountain tapir, also known as the Andean tapir or woolly tapir (''Tapirus pinchaque''), is the smallest of the four widely recognized species of tapir. It is found only in certain portions of the Andean Mountain Range in northwestern South A ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

and

culpeo The culpeo (''Lycalopex culpaeus''), also known as Culpeo zorro, Andean zorro, Andean fox, Paramo wolf, Andean wolf,Comparative ecology of two South American foxes, 'Dusicvon ariseus' and 'Culpaeus' by Warren E. Johnson. Doctoral dissertation. Io ...

, 395 species of birds, 70 reptiles, and 116 amphibians.

Flora

Local habitat types include the

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

of the

páramo Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

and montane

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

Bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

es,

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s, and

lycopods Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants also known as lycopsids, lycopods, or lycophytes. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching stems bearing simple leaves ...

are common plants. There are over 100 species of

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

plants.

Culture

There are indigenous communities living within the protected area such as the

Quechua people Quechua people (, ; ) , Quichua people or Kichwa people may refer to any of the Indigenous peoples of South America who speak the Quechua languages, which originated among the Indigenous people of Peru. Although most Quechua speakers are nativ ...

of Oyacachi in the

and the

Cofán people The Cofán people (endonym: ''Ai'') are an Indigenous people native to Sucumbíos Province northeast Ecuador and to southern Colombia, between the Guamués River (a tributary of the Putumayo River) and the Aguarico River (a tributary of the ...

of Sinangoé in the

Sucumbíos Province Sucumbíos () is a province in northeast Ecuador. The capital and largest city is Nueva Loja (normally referred to as Lago Agrio). It is the fifth largest province in the country, with an area of 18,084 km2. In 2010, it had a population o ...

Tourist attractions

, which features

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s and highland prairies frequented for fishing and bird watching. *

Cayambe Canton Cayambe is a canton in the northeast of the province of Pichincha, in northern Ecuador, South America. The canton is named after the Cayambe, a 5,800-meter-high snow-covered stratovolcano in the east of the canton. The main part of the canton o ...

, which is the site of the

Pambamarca Pambamarca (alternate, Pimbamarca) is an eroded stratovolcano in the Central Cordillera of the northern Ecuadorian Andes in Pichincha Province. it is northeast of Quito. The summit is at an elevation of . The mountains of the Pambamarca in the ...

pre-Incan structures, the Sun and Moon temples in Puntiatsil, and part of the

Inca Trail The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (also known as ''Camino Inca'' or ''Camino Inka'') is a hiking trail in Peru that terminates at Machu Picchu. It consists of three overlapping trails: ''Mollepata'', ''Classic'', and ''One Day''. ''Mollepata'' is ...

. * The snow-topped

. * Lake Puruhanta, which has trails, and camping, and is the site of ancient ruins called ''la Mesa''. * Lago San Marcos * San Rafael Waterfall on

Coca River The Coca River is a river in eastern Ecuador. It is a tributary of the Napo River. The two rivers join in the city of Puerto Francisco de Orellana Puerto Francisco de Orellana (), also known as El Coca (), is the capital of province of Orell ...

, until recently, the tallest waterfall in Ecuador, with a height of . **On February 2, 2020 the water stopped flowing, the result of a sinkhole nearby which divided the cascade into three streams which are no longer easily observed. * Quijos Valley *The summits Sarahurco () and Cerro Puntas () and the

Reventador Reventador is an active stratovolcano which lies in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. It lies in a remote area of the national park of the same name, which is Spanish for "exploder". Since 1541, it has erupted over 25 times, although its isolated loc ...

Volcano (3485 m) *The virgin forests of Paquiestancia and Cascade of Buga (3500 m)

References

External links

Explore the Diverse Terrain of the Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve

Photos of Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve
{{Authority control Nature reserves in Ecuador Geography of Sucumbíos Province Geography of Napo Province Geography of Pichincha Province Geography of Imbabura Province Tourist attractions in Sucumbíos Province Tourist attractions in Napo Province Tourist attractions in Pichincha Province Tourist attractions in Imbabura Province Protected areas established in 1970 1970 establishments in Ecuador Northwestern Andean montane forests