Podocarpus 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 ...

located in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Loja, in the south-east of

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 ...

. It was created in 1982. It covers , from two spurs of the eastern range of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

to the basins of the Nangaritza, Numbala, and Loyola rivers. About 85 per cent of the park is in the province of Zamora Chinchipe, and the remainder is in the province of Loja. It is categorized as a megadiverse zone and an area with a high level of endemic species because it is a meeting point between four ecological systems: Northern Andes, Southern Andes, Amazonian, and Pacific. Although considerable knowledge has been gathered about its biodiversity in parts of the area, only a minority of the species inhabiting the park has been discovered so far. The Podocarpus National Park spans from lower montane rain forests at about elevation, up to high elevation elfin forests at . Paramo or subparamo vegetation is found at elevations above where a complex of more than 100 lagoons exists, among the best-known being the '' Lagunas del Compadre''. The park has two main entrances. One is in the Cajanuma Sector, about south of Loja, where elfin forest and paramo habitats at elevations between some can be accessed. The other is in the Bombuscaro Sector, corresponding to the Bombuscaro River, in lower montane forest habitats at elevations from roughly upwards. There are two alternative entrances without park guards. The Romerillos Sector, corresponding to the Jamboé River southeast of the Bombuscaro Sector, is also an entrance for gold miners who work inside the park. Another entrance is at Cerro Toledo, east of the Yangana-Valladolid route in the southwestern part of the park.

Flora

The park contains an exceptionally diverse flora, and has been considered the 'Botanical Garden of America'. Its high and low mountain-forest ecosystems, located in the '' Nudo de Sabanilla'' pass, and its very humid mountain and premontane forests in the basin of the Numbala River, have more than 4,000 species of plants including trees that can measure up to , like the ''romerillo'' ('' Podocarpus glomeratus'') which gives its name to the park, and many other valuable species like the ''

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...

'' – the national tree of Ecuador – and a huge variety of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

s. Among the main species found in the region are ''chilca'' ('' Baccharis'' spp.), laurel, San Pedro cactus, '' Physalis peruviana'' (uvilla), black elder, ''pumamaqui'' ('' Oreopanax'' sp.), sappanwood, '' arrayán'', '' cashoco'',

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

, sage, '' guato blanco'', cedar, castor oil plant,

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

, ''yumbingue'' ('' Terminalia guyanensis'') and ''canelón'' ('' Swartzia littlei'').

Fauna

So far, 68 species of mammals have been recorded in the park and its surroundings; four of them are on Ecuador's "Red List" as either endangered or vulnerable: * Mountain tapir (''Tapirus pinchaque'') * Spectacled bear (''Tremarctos ornatus'') * Northern pudu (''Pudu mephistophiles'') *

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

(''Panthera onca'') Other notable mammals include: * Amazonian hog-nosed skunk ('' Conepatus semistriatus'') * Common grey shrew opossum ('' Caenolestes fuliginosus'') There are 560 registered species of birds, which accounts for six per cent of all birds registered worldwide and 40 per cent of the birds registered in Ecuador.Guide to Podocarpus National Park
/ref> For this reason it was identified in 1995 by Wedge and Long as one of the important areas for the conservation of neotropic birds. The area has also been identified as a diversity hotspot of insects such as geometer moths. So far, 1,266 species of this family have been recorded in the northern part of the park and adjacent montane forests, a number exceeding any other place in the world.

Tourist information

The city of Loja is nearby, approximately 25–90 minutes from the two major entrances of Cajanuma and Bombuscaro. There are three guided trails that take from 15 minutes (Speckled Bear Trail) to 1 hour and 20 minutes (Cloud Forest Trail). There are longer trails for those who prefer to backpack or camp. Visitors can also enter from Vilcabamba and Zamora, which are both located directly next to the national park.

Climate

The rainy season varies throughout the park. In the east the rainy season is March – July, while in the west the rainy season is October – December. The mean temperature at high elevations is 12 °C (54 °F) while in the lower parts of the park it is 18 °C (64 °F).Loja city Tourist information
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External links

References

{{authority control National parks of Ecuador Biosphere reserves of Ecuador Protected areas established in 1982 Geography of Loja Province Geography of Zamora-Chinchipe Province Tourist attractions in Loja Province Tourist attractions in Zamora-Chinchipe Province 1982 establishments in Ecuador