Travel Guide Parque Nacional Podocarpus

At an altitude of nearly 3,000 m, the park covers 146,200 ha and includes lagoons, forests of thousand-year-old trees and endemic fir trees. The park was created in 1982 to protect two species: Podocarpus rospiglios and Podocarpus oleifolius, species which gave their name to the park. Most of the vegetation is typical of lowland rainforest and it is an ideal place to observe orchids and wild plants.Unfortunately, however, it is threatened by illegal deforestation. Its varied fauna is characteristic of the Sierra. Also its vast forests shelter pumas, spectacled bears, foxes, wolves of the páramo, tiger herons, ducks of torrent, turkeys, roosters of rocks, toucans, parrots and hummingbirds. On the other hand, more than a hundred lakes have been formed here by ancient glaciers. There are also many streams and waterfalls with crystal clear waters