Cajas National Park is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful natural places of Ecuador with more than 200 glacial lakes and a range of alternatives for hiking for everyone. Enjoy the scenery of the Andean Highlands during this private tour designed according to your requirements.
Prices change with the date; the lowest is shown.
Prices are per person when two book together; a solo traveller pays $100.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 7.
Be picked up from you accommodations in the morning and drive for approximately 1-hour to Cajas National Park, located 32km west of Cuenca. Visit two heights, the middle part, 3,960 meters, located in the area of Toreadora where you will walk the time thay you considered enough. Along the trek you will see the andean mountain scenary and Polylepis forests. and the guide will explain about moorland vegetation. Then, you will have lunch in a restaurant in the zone. Finally, you will visit the lower part of the park, near Llaviuco at 3150 meters, in a different ecosystem known as primary mountain forest and have a walk around the lake for about 1.5-hour or less if you prefer.
The turi viewpoint allows you to enjoy an extraordinary panoramic view of the city of Cuenca, located in the Cañari de Guapondeleg valley, which was later called Tumipampa during the Inca empire.
Pick up at hotels or apartment
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Excurgo comparison of 122 Viator tours, recalculated daily.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cajas National Park tour from Cuenca lasts about 7–8 hours. The itinerary has 2 stops.
Prices start at $50 per person for this Cuenca experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. That is the per-person price when two book together; a solo traveller pays $100. There are 3 booking options, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, starting at 8:30 AM.
Children aged 5–11 pay from $45, adults from $50.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered. Pick up at hotels or apartment Pickup points include Hotel San Pablo, Valgus Hotel & Centro De Negocios.
The experience is available in EN, ES.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 15 participants.
Specialized infant seats are available
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.7 out of 5 across 12 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Polylepis Tours.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
I love the Cajas National Park. The ride from Cuenca was comfortable and being a private tour, I was able to spend time on my own. Amazing views of the lake, mountains and valley. The walking path was also beautiful and the guide moved according to our pace. Also enjoyed the local restaurant. If you love nature, you will enjoy this trip.
I booked this tour as a private tour because the agency claimed a group wasn't available. I got picked up by my guide Moises who was very knowledgeable about the fauna and flora of the area and made a few view stops on the way to the hike in the national park. The hike is not long (about 7km in total) but what gets you is the altitude (average of 3900 meters above sea level). After about 6 km, Moises turns to me and says "I see the hike is a bit straining for you because of the altitude, so I'll go the normal route and you go through a different route leading to the parking lot". He then proceeded to draw a map of the location we were at and give me directions of where to go. It all seemed very risky to me because it was just me and him but I trusted him as he said it supposed to be a 15 minute walk. He left, and I went on the trail he told me following his instructions. After 10 minutes of walking I felt something wasn't right and I realized that trail I was going through is unmarked - I was lost in the middle of the Andes mountains by myself. I then proceeded to scale the mountain and search for the highway and get some help. It took me several hours to find the highway, walking in the beating sun, climbing the mountain with bare hands and through cacti and other plants and all in high demanding altitude. Finally after reaching the highway I managed to stop a truck who rescued me to a nearby lookout where I could call the agency and get picked up. I was sun burnt, dehydrated, had cuts all over my body and completely strained. When my guide picked me up, he didn't take any responsibility for leaving me by myself, he just blamed me for not going on the right path. In addition there was no reimbursement or any form of apology from the agency. People there are a lot of tour agencies that offer this experience, do yourself a favor and get one that is responsible and has customer service awareness.
Good afternoon First, we offer our sincere apologies on behalf of Polylepis Tours and our guide, Moises. We understand your frustration with what happened. All we can do at this time is reiterate our apologies and mention that Moises never intended to send you down a confusing trail; he was simply trying to avoid complications related to the altitude. Sometimes good intentions can lead to unfavorable situations for both parties. We always acknowledge our mistakes.
Eddy was our guide and the tour was fantastic. A beautiful park! See my review on Trip Advisor for more details!
Tour was professional and nice. Good talk and information about plants, animals and mountains. It was really interesting and great hike. I recommend the long hike 4 hours
Diego was an amazingly informative guide. Couldn't be happier with the trip. The altitude Hit me hard but Diego was super patient.
Dear Friend Thank you for your comment, it was a pleasure for Polylepis Tours Ecuador to help you with this visit Cajas National Park and enjoy its flora, fauna and amazing landscape. We are at your command for anything. Best Regards from Polylepis Tours Ecuador Team.
Highly recommend Eddy for birdwatching as he is exceptionally knowledgeable; recognizing bird calls, naming each species and able to lure many out for viewing. He’s also punctual, a safe driver and an all around great person. We will use his services again.
Dear Janette Thanks a lot for let Polylepis Tours Ecuador organized the city tour and the Birdwatching tour in Cajas NP, Edison was very happy with you, Reed and Brad, you are amazing Edison said. Would be nice to help you in the future. Enjoy your time in Cuenca.. thanks again.
Excellent excursion with excellent, professional guide, Flavio, extremely knowledgeable on the flora and fauna and climate of the Cajas. Very patient, with me taking photos on the beauty of Cajas. Carlos, our driver was very professional and safe driver. Five stars for Flavio Carlos, and Polylepis
Hello Dear Friend Thank you so much for your comment. We are so happy that you really enjoyed Tour at Cajas National Park, it´s a nice option to see amazing flora and fauna . Kind regards from Polylepis Tours Ecuador Team
In just over 2 hours Flavio brought us closer to nature with the flora and fauna of Cajas National Park. All our (many!) Questions were answered. We were impressed by Flavio's great knowledge. He showed us the smallest flowers we wouldn't have seen without him. Of course, always with the Latin name! His excellent English impressed us. That we met another llama family with a young animal (enclosed photo) was the icing on the cake.
Dear friends thank you very much for your valuable comment, we are pleased to know that you enjoyed the tour to the Cajas National Park, we will tell Flavio Muñoz about this comment. Best regards
The trip booked with Polylepis is very well organized. I had a small question and was able to drop into the office in cuenca (so nice to physically meet people too) The park itself is beautiful and my guide Eddy has a particularly broad knowledge of birds, plants and flowers! He also knows how to tell the history and origins of Cajas national park, its surroundings and local culture in detail! Very informative and very nice trip! Thank Eddy and the rest of the organization!
Dear friend, thank you very much for your comment, for us as Polylepis Tours it is always very important to know about the satisfaction of our customers, we are pleased to know that you enjoyed the tour to the Cajas National Park. Best regards
End of September 2018, my wife and me enjoyed the private day tour to Cajas NP by Polylepis tours. The website information is correct and precise, booking at the tour office in Cuenca was easy and straightforward. Edy (Edison Juca) was our guide. Organisation of the tour and the tour program was flawless (actually, we admittedly profited of a nice day, too), and Edy turned out to be a guide with absolutely impressive capabilities. He adapted the choosen hiking trail perfectly to our physical conditions, he was able to name and explicitly describe all plants and birds which we recognized on our tour, and he virtually named every single species with its English, Latin and Spanish name (which was rather helpful in view of our German origin). He provided sound information on the geologic, historic, and cultural background of the area, and - on our way back - we enjoyed a comprehensive, detailed and very informative discussion with him on the actual political and social situation in Ecuador. Taken together, this was an outstanding highlight during our three-months tour through Ecuador. Thank you, Edy!
Dear friends, Thank you very much for your comment, for us as Polylepis Tours we are pleased to know that you enjoyed the Cajas National Park tour and that you have had a great experience with our guide, that is what makes us improve every day. Best regards
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cajas National Park tour from Cuenca | 7–8 hours | 4.7 (12) | $50 | |
 Amazing Cajas National Park Tour from Cuenca | 7–8 hours | 4.9 (263) | $47 | View |
 Cajas National Park Small-Group tour from Cuenca | 7–8 hours | 5.0 (232) | $48 | View |
 Cajas National Park Half Day Tour from Cuenca | 4h 20min | 4.9 (187) | $39 | View |
 Birdwatching Tour in Cajas National Park from Cuenca | 8 hours | 5.0 (62) | $105 | View |
 Ultimate Cajas National Park Full-Day Adventure with Local Expert | 7–8 hours | 4.8 (24) | $55 | View |
 Private Cajas National Park Tour through Cloud Forest and Moorlands | 7h 30min | 4.8 (10) | $89 | View |