National parks are some of the nicest places on Earth. In this post, we’ll cover all of Ecuador’s national parks.

Guide to Ecuador’s National Parks

Ecuador has the most bio-diverse places on the planet! Now I don’t know about you, but that seems like something we need to see. The least we can do is try to help you choose which parks you want to go to. So how many national parks are there in Ecuador?

There are a total of 11 National Parks in the Galapagos:

1. Yasuni National Park
2. El Cajas National Park
3. Sangay National Park
4. Cotopaxi National Park
5. Machalilla National Park
6. Galapagos National Park
7. Llanganates National Park
8. Sumaco Napo-Galeras National Park
9. Yacuri National Park
10. Cayambe-Coca National Park
11. Podocarpus National Park

So let’s talk about each of these parks in a little bit more detail.

1. Yasuni National Park

• Where: Pastaza and Orellana provinces
• Why visit: The most bio-diverse place in the world

Yasuni is famous for being the most bio-diverse place on our planet. Yasuni is located in the Amazon Basin at the base of the Andes mountains. Because of this, the park stays warm and has plentiful rainfall all year round. There are also two rivers that flow through the park: the Curaray and the Napo.

Make sure you travel with an official and certified naturalist tour guide. This is safer as they know the area and the terrain, but you will also enjoy your visit much more because your guide can point out plants or animals that you may not see otherwise.

2. El Cajas National Park

• Where: Azuay province (30 km from Cuenca)
• Why visit: Unique flora and fauna, as well as foggy romantic beauty

Cajas is a gorgeous park. It’s a little damp, chilly, and a bit foggy. But it has this mysterious beauty about it that you can’t miss.

“Cajas” comes either from the Quichua (indigenous language) word “cassa,” which means “gateway to the snowy mountains,” or “caxa” meaning “cold” in Quichua. Both of these names are fitting, the Cajas are definitely chilly.

The Cajas has a population of endemic and endangered animals, such as the violet-throated metaltail hummingbird, the giant hummingbird, and the South American condor, just to name a few. The flora is also beautiful and unique, such as the rare and threatened Fuchsia campii.

3. Sangay National Park

• Where: Tungurahua, Chimborazo, and Morona Santiago provinces
• Why visit: Rare wildlife, 2 active volcanoes, 1 extinct volcano, and a diverse ecosystem ranging from glaciers to tropical rainforest.Sangay is a truly unique place, home to rare and endangered animals, like the mountain tapir. It also has 2 active volcanos: Sangay and Tungurahua, which is constantly puffing out little plumes of ash.
• The ecosystem is so diverse! You have tropical rainforests and glaciers all in one park.

Sangay is the largest protected area in the Sierra, being 4, 828 sq km! Unfortunately, not all of the park is easily accessible to visitors.

4. Cotopaxi National Park

• Where: Pinchincha and Cotopaxi provinces (1:30 from Quito)
• Why visit: Amazing volcano, the 2nd highest peak in Ecuador

Cotopaxi National Park is located in the province of Cotopaxi and contains a volcano by the same name. Suffice to say, Cotopaxi is important to the locals.

Some even climb the volcano, but for this, you will want a highly experienced mountain guide. The climb is not said to be exceptionally difficult but the altitude is a factor, as well as limited knowledge of the terrain.

5. Machalilla National Park

• Where: Manabi province
• Why visit: Very diverse

Machalilla includes a dry forest, fog forest, a few small islands, two larger islands: Salango and Isla de la Plata. Isla de la Plata is rumored to conceal a large horde of silver from Sir Francis Drake.

There’s more here than iffy treasure though! The park has two species of monkeys and over 270 species of birds. Whatever your interest, you’ll probably find something to occupy you here.

6. Galapagos National Park

• Where: Galapagos Islands
• Why visit: Galapagos is a must see!

Galapagos was Ecuador’s first national park and it encompasses 97% of the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands are one of the most amazing places on the planet. They host so many endemic and endangered animals.

7. Llanganates National Park

• Where: Tungurahua, Pastaza, Napo, and Cotopaxi provinces
• Why visit: Diverse flora and fauna, as well as the legendary Treasure of the Llanganatis

Llanganates is a very big park. It has a diverse landscape of high valleys and mountainous peaks. A great place to come for hiking, camping, horse riding, and mountain climbing.

8. Sumaco Napo-Galeras National Park

• Where: Sucumbios, Orellana, and Napo provinces
• Why visit: Ruggedly beautiful

This park hasn’t been thoroughly explored yet, so it has a very mysterious and rugged beauty. Many people come here for rafting, hiking, and mountain climbing.

9. Yacuri National Park

• Where: Zamora and Loja provinces
• Why visit: Many ecosystems and diverse flora and fauna

Yacuri’s ecosystems include a cloud forest and brush plains, among others. Among the diverse fauna is the endangered mountain tapir and spectacled bear, as well as the vulnerable cougar. The park also has over 46 lakes!

10. Cayambe-Coca National Park

• Where: Sucumbios, Pichincha, Napo, and Imbabura province
• Why visit: Water beauty

Cayambe-Coca is filled with natural beauty and a lot of water. There is a lot of fog and rain and many lagoons as well as rivers, wetlands, and waterfalls. So if you enjoy the beauty of water, this is the place for you!

11. Podocarpus National Park

• Where: Loja and Zamora provinces
• Why visit: Diverse flora and fauna

Podocarpus has a diverse flora population, with 40% of the 4000 plant species being endemic. It is also home to the rare spectacled bear, jaguar, and mountain tapir, as well as over 600 bird species.

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