Llanganates National Park, National park in Cotopaxi, Napo, Pastaza, and Tungurahua provinces, Ecuador
Llanganates National Park is a nature reserve in Cotopaxi, Napo, Pastaza, and Tungurahua provinces, Ecuador, covering more than two hundred thousand hectares. The terrain ranges from lowland forests just above one thousand meters to high Andean páramo above four thousand five hundred meters in elevation.
The protected area was created in 1996 and received its legal status through official decree. Inca-era legends link the region to General Rumiñahui, who is said to have hidden a treasure in the mountains.
The surrounding area supports 170,000 residents who maintain agricultural practices, growing crops such as cocoa, coffee, corn, and Sacha peanut.
Access is available through several entry points near Salcedo, Patate, Pillaro, Baños, and Rio Verde, with many trails requiring several hours of walking. Because of the considerable elevation changes, plan to adjust gradually to the thin air and bring clothing for shifting weather.
Researchers found a structure made of two-ton stone blocks at around twenty-six hundred meters elevation in 2013, suggesting ancient construction activity. The area still draws treasure hunters who believe in the legend of hidden Inca gold.
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