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Yacuri

LOCATION: Andes

Surface area : 181 051 acres /

between 7 872 and 11 808 ft (2 400 and 3 600 meter) /

Protected since: 2010

PHOTO GALLERY

It can be quite cold, to below ten degrees Celsius and the wind and rain can be fierce. The rock formations and peaks are gigantic. The new park Yacuri is beautiful but difficult to access. The only way to get there is a 2 hour drive from Amaluza in the canton of Espindola in the province of Loja. Few Ecuadorians will know this canton. Tourists rarely, if ever, come there. The extreme point where they sometimes stop is the “Valley of the Centenarians” in Vilcabamba. But that may change now that Yacuri has become a national park.

The park consists of 73,300 ha of protected forest (the Bosque Protector Colambo-Yacuri), cloud forest and paramo (high plains) with numerous lagunas (the laguna Yauri, Lagunas Negras, Laguna Cox, Lagunas de Jimbura, …). The park is located at an altitude of 3800 meters, in an area where several rivers have their source and flow both to the east and to the west and provide the drinking water for Catamayo-Chira and Chinchipe-Mayo. Yacuri is located in the south of the province of Loja, on the border of the Amazon province of Zamora Chinchipe, just on the Peruvian border.

Not far from Yacuri is the more famous National Park of Podocarpus, the reserve Yacuambi and across the border on Peruvian territory the Santuario Nacional Tabacones de Namballe. That is why it is being considered to connect these four nature areas with each other and to create a kind of protected “corredor”. This would benefit the preservation of some mammals that live in the area but are endangered, such as the spectacled bear.

The proclamation of Yacuri National Park actually came at the initiative of the population, especially small farmers, who hope that this will enable them to generate extra income from ecotourism. Particularly in the villages of Amaluza, Santa Teresita and Jimbura (in the province of Loja) and Palanda, Valladolid and San Andres (in the province of Zamora Chinchipe), people are actively promoting the initiative. Training courses on conservation and the training of 4 park rangers and guides have begun. The Ministry of the Environment allocated a budget of USD 144,000 for 2010 to this end.

Information: monthly magazine “vzw Esmeraldas”

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Tom - Guide in Ecuador

I am Tom and I am from Belgium. I’ve lived in Ecuador for a decade and I’ve been working in tourism for 8 years now. Therefore I obtained my tourism diploma in Ecuador. Traveling and discovering new places is my passion. Currently I live in Guamote, a small village between Riobamba and Alausi. Together with the local travel agency Descubre-Ecuador, we offer tailor-made tours in Galapagos and on the Ecuadorian mainland.

Tom uit BelgiëI am Tom and I am from Belgium. I’ve lived in Ecuador for a decade and I’ve been working in tourism for 8 years now. Therefore I obtained my tourism diploma in Ecuador. Traveling and discovering new places is my passion. Currently I live in Guamote, a small village between Riobamba and Alausi. Together with the local travel agency Descubre-Ecuador, we offer tailor-made tours in Galapagos and on the Ecuadorian mainland.

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Tom - guide in EcuadorI’m Tom from Belgium and I’ll make sure your trip to Ecuador or cruise in Galapagos goes as smoothly and pleasantly as possible. I have been living in Ecuador for a decade and have been working in tourism for 8 years now. Before that, I obtained my guides diploma in Ecuador. Traveling and discovering new places is my passion.
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Indian woman from SalasacasIn South America, Ecuador is one of the smaller countries, but the country is hugely diverse in terms of geography, climate and population. You can visit the Andes, the Amazon rainforest as well as the tropical coast without taking extremely long domestic flights or transfers. And then you have the Galapagos Islands, a once in a lifetime experience. The diversity of flora and fauna per square mile is enormous. Ecuador is South America in a nutshell. Moreover, the country is relatively safe and little visited. The national currency is the USD and you have a wide choice of direct flights to Quito and Guayaquil from Europe and the United States.

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Tom - guide in EcuadorIk ben Tom uit België en zorg ervoor dat jullie reis naar Ecuador of cruise in Galapagos zo vlot en aangenaam mogelijk kan verlopen. Ik woon al een tiental jaren in Ecuador en werk nu 8 jaren in toerisme. Daarvoor heb ik in Ecuador mijn gidsen-diploma behaald. Reizen en nieuwe plaatsen ontdekken is mijn passie. Samen met het lokale reiskantoor Descubre-Ecuador, bieden we reizen op maat in Galapagos en op het Ecuadoriaanse vasteland aan. Descubre-Ecuador heeft door de jaren heen een betrouwbare samenwerking opgebouwd met de beste hotels en de beste natuurgidsen van Ecuador. Onze kleinschalige manier van werken zorgt voor een vlotte bereikbaarheid en veel flexibiliteit bij het reizen. De tevredenheid van de klant is voor ons de essentie. En ook op die zeldzame momenten van onvoorziene moeilijke omstandigheden zorgen we dat we er zijn om jullie reis toch perfect te laten verlopen. Ontdek Ecuador en Galapagos!