The tour guide will pick you up from your accommodations in the morning and drive for approximately 1 hour to Cajas National Park, located 32km west of Cuenca. During the trip you will enjoy amazing sceneries of the Andes.
Here in the middle part of Cajas, you will enjoy a nice hike about 1:45 hours. Your guide will show you Toreadora lake and more bodies of water, Polylepis Forest and he will explain about the flora and fauna of this park. If you like photography Cajas looks like something from a failry tale.
Then, the guide and you will travel 10min to visit Tres Cruces Viewpoint located at 4160masl. From this place you will have a nice view of the amazing andean scenery of Cajas National Park.
Finally you will travel 1 hour back to Cuenca, and the guide will drop you of by your hotel or if you prefer in a different location.
Despite getting a late start, we had a very good tour with Edison. He was experienced and knowledgeable on all aspects of the areas we visited and we had some great conversations. Highly recommend this tour and guide.
We had an amazing day with Adrian! Our favorite day in Cuenca so far. We loved hiking around the lagoon at Cajas, which was beautiful, and seeing the view at the top. The company made it easy to reserve and get picked up, and Adrian was an incredible tour guide! He taught us so much about Cajas and Ecuador. He was kind, funny, and very passionate when teaching us about the beauty of Ecuador. We would absolutely recommend this company and Adrian!
Cristian picked us up at our place, and the 40-minute drive to the park was filled with history about Cuenca and Cajas. He chose just the right hiking route so we got the most out of the tour. His knowledge of the park, the vegetation, and even the birds was extensive — pointing out species and calling hummingbirds with their specific sounds. He speaks fluent English. Highly recommend the tour company and Cristian.
Cristian picked us up at our place, and the 40-minute drive to the park was filled with history about Cuenca and Cajas. He chose just the right hiking route so we got the most out of the tour. His knowledge of the park, the vegetation, and even the birds was extensive — pointing out species and calling hummingbirds with their specific sounds. He speaks fluent English. Highly recommend the tour company and Cristian.
We had a group of 3 and our guide was Sebastian. What an amazing opportunity to learn and hike in Cajas! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable not just about the national park but about Ecuador as a whole. He answered our questions throughly and created the best experience our group could have hoped for. The private transportation feature was A++. Highly recommend!
Excellent tour. Walk was very informative and not hard. Recommended.
My friends and I had an amazing tour! Our guide was Sebastian - he was kind, patient, and knowledgeable. He made us feel safe and we would absolutely recommend him as a tour guide. The hike was challenging in the best way and we felt very accomplished afterwards!
Sebastian was great! Very knowledgeable and patient with our multiple breaks! Definitely recommend - 10/10
We really enjoyed our half day tour. Las Cajas is beautiful and a bit otherworldly. Eddie was the perfect guide. He accommodated for our pace (altitude was a bit challenging for me). And was very knowledgable about the park and its flora and fauna. Highly recommended.
Cajas national park was lovely and worth the trip. It can be cold, windy and rainy so dress accordingly! Edison was a great guide, he took very good care of us and was knowledgeable about all things related to Cuenca and the surrounding areas. We stayed in touch with him throughout our stay and he helped us with other tours and resources.
Our guide Eddie was excellent! He drove us safely to the park, led us on a great hike, and made the whole experience enjoyable and stress-free. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and made sure everyone had a great time. Highly recommended!
I had a great time on my tour with Edison! Very knowledgeable about the park, the plants, and fauna. Cajas is a beautiful park and it was nice having a guide! Highly recommend
We had a great half day private tour of parts of Cajas park. Edison was a phenomenal guide with a wealth of knowledge from fauna to geology. Highly recommend!
Amazing experience in every possible way, definitely above my expectations! The park itself is simply amazing, and Edison has been a great guide: super knowledgeable about the history of the park and Cuenca, as well as the local flora and fauna. He’s also a true bird expert! Without him, I don’t think I would have appreciated Cajas so deeply. I totally recommend Edison and Polylepis Tours!
Cajas was an amazing experience. If you love nature value biodiversity this is the tour for you. The Cajas and Andean landscape is breathtaking! Pedro was our tour guide and he spoke in both English and Spanish. His Spanish speaking skills was very good. Our group consisted of three which was nice. Pedro was friendly, engaging and provided interesting facts. I am a yoga teacher and we stopped to practice breathing techniques to facilitate the hike. Pedro was a good sport and did a yoga pose. It was a lot of fun. My husband loved this tour as his first time in Ecuador. I highly recommend!!!
We wanted to escape the city for half a day and this was the perfect tour. Half a day was just long enough - approx 45 mins each way plus a couple of hours hiking around the park. Edison was a good driver / guide who spoke excellent English. Definitely recommend this trip if you’re staying in Cuenca.
Half-day with Edison, our guide and driver—he drove us up the mountain, gave detailed explanations of the scenery, terrain, plants, and birds, The views were stunning.
Wonderful experience at El Cajas National Park! Amazing views and unique flora. We had a great tour guide, Eddy, who helped us learn about our surroundings and the history of Cuenca and the park. Highly recommend this tour. Can’t wait to come back!
Moises was fantastic guide. He had a lot of facts about everything in Cajas, as well as Cuenca in general. I left my sunglasses in the minivan and he got them returned within an hour.. top class
I have Moises picking me up in the morning for this half day hiking trip. We started at the view point around 4000m above sea level followed by a 2 hours hiking down hill and up hill along the lakes, streams, grassland and mountains of Cajas National Park. The landscape was breathtaking and Moises had a great knowledge, he explained different plants, faunas and some birds we spotted along the way. In addition Moises also mentioned about other places in Ecuador and even recommended me best places to eat in Cuenca after my hike. Moises has made this trip memorable with his good service and knowledge.
Chris was a very engaging and knowledgeable tour guide for our half day cajas national park tour with our six month old twins. He was also flexible with the itinerary and needs throughout the day, which we really appreciated! He made it easy when it could have been super difficult. Bryan was an excellent driver. Highly recommend Polylepis tours!
Our guide was passionate and knew everything about caja. We really enjoyed his company and we felt safe to walk with him through the national parc
Lovely park, lovely day, INCREDIBLE GUIDE! Moises is the BEST! Just the right about of time if you want to see the park and not spend too long away from the city!
Edison was an excellent guide. My wife and I really enjoyed learning about Cajas and walking the trails with Edison
Our guide, Diego, was high energy and extremely knowledgeable of not only the flora and fauna of the park but also able to share lots of interesting information about Cuenca and Ecuador. My daughter -in-law is from Ecuador but had not visited this area of the country before. Diego volunteered to speak in both Spanish and English switching back and forth every few minutes so that I, the gringo on board, could practice my Spanish language skills. He was easy to understand in both languages. We had a highly interesting hike of about two hours around one area of the park after stopping at a high point by car to see a great vista. Luckily for me, age 71, he had a hiking pole to lend me as well as a hand towards the end of the hike as we ascended to the parking area. The altitude is around 13,000 feet so this isn’t a mere « walk in the park. » Diego knew much about the geological history of the park, the various birds we saw, what the paw prints in the mud were likely to be, the medicinal properties of many of the plants, etc. Finally, he gets an extra star for having some spare toilet paper handy as the bathrooms were bare. A memorable day!
Our trip to Ecuador truly exceeded our expectations. And while we were in Cuenca, we were lucky enough to hike in the Calas National Park with Diego. We were part of a small group and all thoroughly enjoyed his knowledge of the natural environment, and the care he took with each of us. The scenery was spectacular. And the friendliness we experienced in Cuenca made our visit even more special. One suggestion is to be prepared for the high altitude.
What to say. I think it was one of our best tours. It was also the shortest one ironically. But Sebastian made it awesome. We did more or less two hours of trekking/walking around the national park. But the best part was the discussion we had with him, he’s such a sweet and interesting person, he always had something to explain! We loved him!
Edison was an amazing guide! Very knowledgable and interesting. The hike in the park was great, not too long, but so beautiful.
Amazing guide, took us throughout the Cajas route and gave valuable information throughout. Patient and kind as well as friendly
I had an incredible, overwhelming time at Cajas National Park. Moses was a well-informed guide, and always had answers for my questions, and I had LOTS. I would recommend him, and this tour, to anyone wondering if it is worth the trip. Loved it!
Sebastian picked us up at our Airbnb right on time . His English was superb and he educated us on the geography of this unique area of Ecuador on the drive up to the peak of 13,200 feet ! He explained Ecuadorian history and gave insight into the amazing plant life that exists at such an altitude. The drive up into the countryside was enjoyable. The weather was windy and cloudy and about 40 degrees Fahrenheit so dress warm for the hike! This is a beautiful unique landscape unlike anything I have seen on my travels. Sebastian was mindful about how the altitude might affect us and we handled it ok. I’ve never spent any time at such elevation so was glad to have him looking after us . This was a great trip to get out of town and see a different part of this beautiful country and ask a lot of questions about any and everything that came to mind along the way. Highly recommend !!
The views were amazing and Edie is very kind and knowledgeable of the area and plants. We will cherish this experience! Thank you
Cajas National Park is fascinating - Edison was a great guide / very knowledgeable & spoke very good English. A day trip not to be missed if you’re in Cuenca. I would recommend this hike to anyone coming to Ecuado.
I had a great time exploring Cajas. The views of the surrounding mountains and lagoons are insane. Moisés was the best guide ever. He explained everything in detail in the park and answered all of my questions about Ecuador. 10/10 recommend touring with him if possible.
This was a breathtaking tour, it’s a must!!! We were picked up from our hotel by Jose our driver and Eddie our tour guide. Friendly and very informative on the ride and the actual tour. I myself had leg injuries and not as fast as my family, Eddie was patient, kind and never made me feel like my injuries were an issue. He is also a wealth of information and shares so much. The beauty you get to take in on your hike leaves you breathless!!! Thank you Eddie and Jose
This was such a fun time with our guide Diego, he was very knowledgeable and just a great person to talk to!
Diego was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Las Cajas park. He picked me up at the hotel on time and took me to La Toreadora lake. We did a short hike and explained in very good English the geology and natural features along the way. Highly recommended!
If you are in Cuenca, I highly recommend this half day tour to the Cajas National Park. You will be picked up at your hotel and brought back after the hike. Cristian (our guide) was amazing and really knowledgeable. He is very passionate about the flora and fauna and knows all the facts about his hometown Cuenca.
It was amazing!! Edy was a great guide and dispute there being bad weather we still felt super comfortable and had a great time.
What an amazing experience! The park is incredible and Edison is a great guide! He is prompt, helpful, knowledgeable, thoughtful. Edison pointed out and explained features from the tiniest flowers to the sweep of the mountains. A must-do trip if you visit Cuenca!
This was just a fantastic tour of the Cajas mountains!! Our tour guide Wilson did a great job giving us a tour of the Cajas mountains!! He was very attentive and helpful when we had questions! We saw so many species of plants and different species in the ecosystem! Me and my girlfriend absolutely loved this hike and we would recommend this to everyone who likes these activities!!!
We loved our time!! My husband and I went with my brother and his girlfriend. We loved each stop, and had a blast! Our host Jessica was very lovely, and we had a wonderful time! The park is beautiful, and our guides made it extra fun with some dancing on board the bus, and a game involving a balloon! 😂 Anyways, overall we had a great day and we are grateful for the experience!
Diego was wonderful. Extremely knowledgeable on all the flora and fauna and geology of cajas. He spoke English well and answered all of our questions about Ecuador. He was patient when we needed to walk slower due to the altitude. We felt very good about the tour. Thanks.
Moses was great - picked us up at hotel on time. He provided us a great explanation during the drive up to the mountain. We went to a viewing point first which is the highest point 4167 m high. Then we did a hour hike along the trail. Moses was patient with us and took lots of breaks as the attitude is challenging. Highly recommend Moses for all of the tours in Ecuador.
Our experience was wonderful in every way. Cajas National Park is absolutely breath taking. Our guide Edison was very knowledgable on the fauna, flora and geography of the park and made our experience that much incredible. We're very grateful.
My wife and I booked a private tour with Polylepis Tours, and Sebastian our English speaking guide was excellent. We were looking forward to this trip prior to leaving home, and it did not disappoint. Cajas National Park is gorgeous and we'll remember it forever. Sebastian was very patient with us inexperienced hikers. We enjoyed his company very much and learned much about the national parks and the history and cultures of Cuenca and Ecuador in general. We highly recommend this trip.
Fascinating introduction to Cajas National Park I spent a very pleasant morning exploring with Diego the flora and fauna of this beautiful part of the Andes. Diego was most knowledgable about herbal plants and we identified many on the way.Standing in a Polylepsis forest was a highlight. The trails ran around lakes and hillsides and Diego kept a gentle pace leaving the traveller well refreshed at the end. All in all a very worthwhile experience .
Wonderful half day tour with Edison to the Cajas National Park. He showed us some beautiful views, and we had the opportunity to do some birdwatching with him. He flexed the itinerary for us based on our mobility, so we enjoyed a nice stroll rather than a hike. A lovely morning out.
We did the second guided tour with Edison. What’s again he was amazing and very knowledgable about the history of the country. I strongly recommend him to anybody who wants to do any tours in Ecuador.
Diego was a wonderful guide who very very knowledgeable about the wildlife and ecosystem. We really appreciated a route into the hills, rather than just going around the lake. The views were amazing and of course, we took lots of photos. I highly recommend this tour!
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