Podocarpus National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Podocarpus) is a protected area in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Loja, in the southeast of Ecuador. It was established in 1982.

The park covers an area of 1,462.8 square kilometers (564.8 square miles), stretching from parts of the eastern Andes mountain range to the basins of the Nangaritza, Numbala, and Loyola rivers. About 85% of the park is located in Zamora Chinchipe, and the remaining 15% is in Loja. It is recognized as a region with high biodiversity and many species found nowhere else in the world because it is where four different ecosystems meet: the Northern Andes, Southern Andes, Amazonian, and Pacific. While scientists have studied some parts of the park’s biodiversity, only a small number of the species living there have been identified so far.

The park includes forests at different elevations, starting from lower montane rainforests at about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) up to high-elevation elfin forests at 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). Above 3,000 meters, there is a type of vegetation called paramo or subparamo, which includes more than 100 lagoons. One of the most well-known is the Lagunas del Compadre.

The park has two main entrances. One is in the Cajanuma Sector, located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) south of Loja. This entrance provides access to elfin forests and paramo habitats at elevations between 2,900 and 3,500 meters (9,500 and 11,500 feet). The other entrance is in the Bombuscaro Sector, near the Bombuscaro River, where lower montane forests can be found at elevations starting from around 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). There are also two other entrances without park guards: the Romerillos Sector, near the Jamboé River southeast of Bombuscaro, and Cerro Toledo, located east of the Yangana-Valladolid route in the park’s southwestern area.

Flora

The park is home to many different kinds of plants and is known as the "Botanical Garden of America." It includes high and low mountain forests in the Nudo de Sabanilla pass and very wet mountain and premontane forests near the Numbala River. These areas have more than 4,000 plant species, including trees that can grow up to 40 meters (130 feet), such as the romerillo tree (Podocarpus glomeratus), which gives the park its name. Other important plants include Cinchona, the national tree of Ecuador, and many types of orchids.

Some of the main plant 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, acacia, sage, guato blanco, cedar, castor oil plant, walnut, yumbingue (Terminalia guyanensis), and canelón (Swartzia littlei).

Fauna

To date, 68 mammal species have been noted in the park and nearby areas. Four of these species are listed on Ecuador's "Red List" as either endangered or vulnerable:

• Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque)
• Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
• Northern pudu (Pudu mephistophiles)
• Jaguar (Panthera onca)

Other mammals found in the area include:

• Amazonian hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus semistriatus)
• Common grey shrew opossum (Caenolestes fuliginosus)

There are 560 bird species registered in the park. This number represents six percent of all bird species recorded worldwide and 40 percent of all bird species recorded in Ecuador. Because of its importance for bird conservation, the area was identified in 1995 by Wedge and Long as a key location for protecting neotropical birds.

The region is also recognized as a hotspot for insect diversity, particularly geometer moths. To date, 1,266 species of this family have been recorded in the northern part of the park and nearby mountain forests. This number is greater than any other place in the world.

Tourist information

The city of Loja is about 15 minutes from the Cajanuma entrance. There are three main trails: the short 15-minute educational Spectacled Bear Trail (el Sendero del Oso de Anteojos), the slightly longer 45-minute Cloud Forest Trail (el Sendero del Bosque Nublado), and the 5 km Mirador Trail, which offers a view of the City of Loja and the surrounding countryside. Cabins on the Mirador Trail can be rented for a small fee if booked ahead of time. A two-day hike to the Lagunas del Compadres lake complex is available, but it requires permission and a guide if booked in advance. The Bombuscara entrance, located 15 minutes from the city of Zamora, has several small trails, including a path to the Poderosa waterfall (Cascada Poderosa), where visitors can wade in the water, a steep trail to a scenic viewpoint (sendero del mirador), and a trail to a swimming hole in the Bombuscara River. Another trail begins in the barrio Yamburara of Vilcabamba town and leads to the El Palto waterfall. A $2 fee is required to enter the El Palto waterfall site.

Climate

The rainy season in the park changes depending on the location. In the eastern part, the rainy season runs from March to July. In the western part, it occurs from October to December. The average temperature at higher elevations is 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit). At lower areas of the park, the average temperature is 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit).