Ecuadorian Protected Areas     In the country exist 9 national parks and 20 national, provincial or other governmental reserves. Apart from those state sponsered parks exist innumerables private reserves.     National Parks   1 El Cajas high paramo region with around 250 lakes and ponds, located 30 km west of Cuenca, hiking & camping, bird watching, trout fishing, $10.- entrance fee 2 Cotopaxi high paramo region with various volcanic peaks with Volcano Cotopaxi reaching 5898m, located 60 km south of Quito, Limpiopungo lake, nesting site for birds, mountaineering & hiking, $10.- fee  3 Galapagos insular archipelago, located 1000km west from Ecuador in the Pacific ocean, click directly to our Islands & Sites section of our Galapagos chapter, nature cruises, diving, $100.- entrance fee 4 Llanganates  Andes highland, Amazon high- and lowland regions, entrance point Baños  5 Machalilla protected coastal area along Pacific coast in Manabi, center is Puerto Lopez, Isla de la Plata, Solango, Playa de los Frailes, Aguas Blancas, archeological site, dry tropical forest, $20.- fee    6 Podocarpus  Andes highland and Amazon lowland regions, located in the south of the country between Loja and Zamora, podocarpus coniferous tree, lakes, camping, hiking, $10.- entrance fee 7 Sangay  paramo, cloudforests, tropical rainforests, entrance Riobamba or Macas 8 Sumaco Napo-Galeras higher Amazon regions concentrated around Sumaco and in the Cordillera Galeras 9 Yasuni huge lowland tropical rainforest park, high biodiversity, nature expeditions, fishing, camping, canoeing, Huaorani ethnic population    Government Reserves    10 Limoncocha lagoon habitat region in the Amazon rainforest area near Shushufindi 11 Marine Galapagos protected underwater habitat surrounding the Galapagos islands, sharks, whales, tropical fish, rays, turtles, sea lions, snorkelling, scuba diving, $100.- entrance fee 12 Antisana high paramo region around this volcanic peak and forests on Andes dropping down east 13 El Angel paramo region, located in the northern province of Carchi, giant frailejones (espelitia), hiking, nature observation, $10.-entrance fee 14 Cayambe - Coca reserve of Andean and Amazon regions, volcanos Cayambe and Reventador, 15 Cayapas - Mataje ecological reserve protecting mangroves in northern Esmeraldas 16 Cotacachi - Cayapas paramo, cloudforest, rainforest, crater lake, wwestern Cordillera to coastal plains 17 Los Ilinizas paramo area around the two peaks and Quilotoa Crater lake, high cloudforests 18 Mache - Chindul located in the coastal mountian range between the Pacific coast and Andes 19 Churute located 1 hour south of Guayaquil protects dry tropical forest, lagoons, mangroves, bird resere, horned screamer, howler monkeys, $5.- entrance fee 20 Pululahua geo-botanical reserve, volcanic caldera, 20 km northwest of Quito, near Mitad del Mundo,  $5.- entrance fee 21 Cuyabeno tropical rainforests and lagoons in the northern Amazonian region, home to ethnic groups 22 Chimborazo high paramo around Ecuador's highest mountain of 6310m, 20 km northeast of Riobamba, vicuñas, mountaineering & trekking, $10.- entrance fee   23 Pasochoa mountain forest and paramo in and around old extinct volcanic complex,45 km south of Quito 24 El Boliche recreational area near Cotopaxi, 60 km south of Quito 25 Santa Clara island in Golfo de Guayaquil, nesting site for seabirds, 1 hour by boat from Guayaquil 26 El Condor bi-national park between Ecuador and Peru, Cordillera Alto Cenepa, Shuar ethnic group 27 Puyango petrified forest reserve, southern Ecuador bordering Peru, fossilized tree trunks and  other plants, dry tropical forest, birdwatching, hiking, camping, $5.- entrance fee  28 Mindo cloudforest region around western flank of Pichincha, rivers, waterfalls, hiking, tubing, part of Choco endemic bird area, bird watching 29 Ozogoche protected area of paramo lakes south of Riobamba   Private Reserves   30 Majagual protected area of tallest mangrove trees in the world, near La Tola in Esmeraldas 31 Jatun Sacha scientific and touristic reserve in the Amazon along Alto Napo 32 Guandera  high mountain reserve and paramo, San Gabriel, Carchi province, birdwatching, clusia trees 33 Bilsa  scientific research station in Mache coastal mountains, humid tropical forests   34 Cerro Blanco private forest reserve, dry tropical forest, mangroves, 20 km west of Guayaquil, howler monkeys, cats, bird watching, hiking, camping, $4.- entrance fee 35 Don Juan dry tropical and transitional humid forests, along Pacific coast in northern Manabi 36 Pahuma private cloudforest reserve from 2000m to 3000m, orchids, waterfalls, 1 hour northwest of Quito, 3.- entrance fee

Map of Nature Parks     1 El Cajas 2 Cotopaxi 3 Galapagos 4 Llanganates 5 Machalilla 6 Podocarpus 7 Sangay 8 Sumaco 9 Yasuni 10 Limoncocha 11 Marine Galapagos 12 Antisana 13 El Angel 14 Cayambe - Coca 15 Cayapas - Mataje 16 Cotacachi - Cayapas 17 Los Ilinizas 18 Mache - Chindul 19 Churute 20 Pululahua 21 Cuyabeno 22 Chimborazo 23 Pasochoa 24 El Boliche 25 Santa Clara 26 El Condor 27 Puyango 28 Mindo 29 Ozogoche 30 Majagual 31 Jatun Sacha 32 Guandera 33 Bilsa 34 Cerro Blanco 35 Don Juan 36 Pahuma