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Trail Description:

We had heard and read many times a phrase that says: “Si usted no conoce Loja, no conoce mi país” (If you don’t know Loja, you don’t know my country). Whenever we read it or listened to it, we asked ourselves: What was the origin of this phrase? We had read it in the title of a book about poems based on testimonies and stories about Loja legends in 1965. A contribution written by: Raúl Rojas Hidalgo. It was also present in images and videos that invited people to go to the city in November when La Fiesta de las Artes Vivas en Loja (The Feast of the Living Arts in Loja) begins. We had also seen it in the painting of the vehicle body from an international land transportation company.

We had really read it and heard it in many places… It was a phrase that caused us curiosity and intrigue. When we arrived in Loja, we moved from the Terminal to the city center. The distance is 2.5 km and it takes a little more than 30 minutes to walk. As we advanced, we met someone who clearly said on her face that she knew this place much better than we did. So we asked her if she knew where the phrase «If you don’t know Loja, you don’t know my country» came from. Did it come from some politician, from the love and pride of its inhabitants, or perhaps nobody knew and just repeated it? The answer to our question came from a musician and composer born in Loja, called: Benjamín Ortega. He had composed and performed the song: ‘Loja en mi país’ (Loja in my country) where the lyrics of his song bear this phrase. His father Emiliano Ortega, on the other hand, was the author of the poem «Alma lojana» which was later taken to song in a musical rhythm called Pasillo. Julio Jaramillo was one of those who had also sung this song. Now, Alma Lojana has become the second hymn to the city. This is such a popular and common phrase that it ranges from a freight company to a cocktail prepared in local bars.

Loja is the name of a province and also of its capital. It is a place that was characterized by its historical and geographical position since the establishment in 1548 by Alonso de Mercadillo in the so-called Cuxibamba valley. It was a place from where the southern Amazon was ruled that extended to Túmbez, Macará and Jubones (now Peru). Activities that marked the city as the axis from administrative center.

The temperature ranges in the city are between: 17 °C / 62.6 °F and 28 °C / 82.4 °F. The relief is irregular. It has the minimum height a little less than 2000 meters above sea level, however we observed that in the south the height increased to a little more than 2200 m a.s.l.

This city is well-known for its contribution to the arts and sciences in Ecuador. Here were born many important people such as: Eduardo Kingman Riofrío, one of the masters in Ecuadorian expressionism about social realism in painting. Isidro Ayora Cueva, one of the most important Ecuadorian medicine doctors and presidents. Segundo Cueva Celi, who influenced Ecuadorian popular music with genre Pasillo. Among many other people who stood out in areas such as philosophy, politics, literature, arts and even religious life. They influenced beyond their native Loja, they did it on a national level.

Loja and Vilcabamba are connected by a 42 kilometers / 26.09 miles road that runs over the Andes and takes approximately 45 minutes by car. In the 70’s, Vilcabamba attracted the attention of the world due to the visit of scientists who were in the place and made it known to the rest of the world its favorable conditions that allowed its population to reach an enviable longevity due to its good state of health. Hence the adjective ‘Valley of Longevity’ has been earned. However, the name of Vilcabamba is a Quichua name meaning «sacred valley». Vilca comes from huilco (a sacred tree of the Incas) and bamba comes from pampa (valley).

But beyond the years that can be lived in this place, its charm is in its essence. This can be appreciated in its church in front of the central park, its houses, and the kindness of its inhabitants.

Vilcabamba’s area is considered one of the best places for hiking in Ecuador. Among the routes frequently traveled is the road that goes from Vilcabamba and reaches the top of Mount Mandango. There is also another one. It goes from Vilcabamaba to El Palto waterfall, closer Podocarpus National Park. This is a less visited road in comparison to the previous one because the distance is much greater. Depending on weather and physical conditions. It can take less than 3 hours walk from Vilcabamba to El Palto waterfall, 8.38 kilometers / 5.20 miles.

When we decided to take this road, gazing fleetingly over our shoulders carrying our backpacks, all of us shared the same tacit thought: Where are we going? We didn’t know exactly where the waterfall was. What conditions the road had. Nor how easy or difficult was the access that would take us to the waterfall. We didn’t really know anything. If we didn’t know the distance, much less the time it would take us to go and return from where we were. It is in that moment where all of Venn’s diagrams about questions of a place converge and you really don’t know which one to put in the center and which to leave out. You don’t have an answer for any of them. All that had led us to want to go to El Palto Waterfall, was a sign that we had seen the day before and described an arrow pointing the way to where to go.

There is a local road that connects Vilcabamba – Yamburara. If you continue on it you will end up taking you back to Vilcabamba through the southeastern area. Departing from Vilcabamba Park, you must advance on Diego Vaca de Vega Street to take the road to Yamburara. The first 320 meters from Vilcabamba Park you will find a small bridge over a stream that in the rainy season slightly increases its water flow. 255 meters further on you will find another bridge over a river with a higher flow of water, which at certain times of the year its flow is really threatening. We would like to describe an exact point in this section of the route, but it is difficult to define a place of visual reference because the constructions are houses with similar designs. There is a Y-shaped sharp curve located in: 4° 15′ 44.44″ S / 79° 12′ 40.38″ W. At this point, you must take a detour from the main road heading East. When you visit the waterfall, you may still find the sign on the road that inspired us to want to go to this waterfall. This and another sign below are all the signs you will find on the way to the El Palto waterfall. Sadly there are only two signs all the way back and forth. Often there are people who do not make it to the waterfall because they get lost on the way and prefer to return to the town.

After this point the concentration of inhabitants and constructions decreases gradually. This is a clear signal that you have begun to distance yourself from Vilcabamba. From this place there are 2.5 kilometers that advance on an asphalt and gravel road that reaches a bridge where the path leading to the entrance to the Podocarpus National Park begins.

If you’re moving closer to nightfall. This is the time to come back and visit the waterfall another day. You are far away, but the road is visible, even in low light. The lights from the houses can serve as a visual reference to return to the town.

The bridge is the last point where you can go by car. From this point, the road becomes a narrow trail that changes and changes shape as it gets lost in the mountain as it gains altitude.

It is easy to become disoriented when oneself ‘follows’ the trail (believing that there are no other ways). We recommend that you check the map, as well as the terrain description so that what happened to us does not happen to you.

We got lost and ended up sharing a conversation and filling our water bottles at the home of a kind Swiss who lives in the mountains. We had deviated more than two kilometers from the road that we should have taken, on a slope of the mountain different from the one we should have bordered. However, it is not bad to get lost in an adventure from time to time.

You will ascend over the first 275 meters of this trail. Once you reach a height of 1727 meters above sea level you will be able to establish a visual reference to Vilcabamba at a linear distance of 3100 meters, you will also be able to visualize the top of Mandango hill at a linear distance of 4500 meters. However, in order to visualize the waterfall, you must still keep on the route by walking for the next 3.7 kilometers.

The trail remains on a plain inclined towards the west that covers the top of the mountain for 950 meters. However, most of the trail sits on the left slope of the elevation. The left slope is the north and the right is the south. If you go for some reason or no reason into the hands of the southern slope, we regret to inform you that you are on the wrong way, and we kindly recommend you return until you will find the point that will take you along the trail that crosses the northern slope.

Although the Cascada el Palto is not inside the Podocarpus National Park. It is very close to the national park, exactly 4.30 kilometers of linear distance.

This area is of great biodiversity and endemism. Some studies carried out in the country show that most biodiversity is present at intermediate altitudes. Where the cold does not affect and allows them to live together: humidity and natural barriers that contribute in the formation of the known microclimates. Podocarpus National Park is considered a site of worldwide importance for the biodiversity conservation. It is home to moors, cloud forests and scrub areas. In 2007, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the Podocarpus – El Cóndor Biosphere Reserve.

The trail that crosses the northern slope goes in a zigzag direction. Sometimes it gains altitude but also loses on its way. The road goes diagonally to the river that comes down from the high mountain range and sometimes you can see it from the road at a minimum distance of 150 meters. However the trail seeks to maintain a low altitude compared to the peaks of the mountains which has as the road is aligned with the waterfall, the peaks look much higher and are further away from the trail. Nature for some reason decided to form this waterfall and hide it in the middle of a forest surrounded by mountains, near the valley of longevity.