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Explore 55 protected areas in Ecuador, rated across 10 categories

Antisana National Park (formerly an Ecological Reserve, reclassified 2021) protects the Antisana volcano reaching 5,758 meters, one of Ecuador's highest peaks. The park encompasses high-altitude páram

Antisana

Arenillas Ecological Reserve protects the largest remaining area of tropical dry forest and dry scrub in Ecuador, located in the southwestern province of El Oro near the Peruvian border. Established o

Arenillas

Bajo Cope Marine Reserve protects 39,952 hectares of marine habitat off the coast of Santa Elena province, centered on an extensive shallow reef approximately 6.4 miles in length. The reserve is one o

Bajo Cope

Cajas National Park is characterized by its high-altitude páramo ecosystem and over 200 glacial lakes. The park's landscape features rocky peaks, valleys, and grasslands at elevations between 3,100 an

Cajas

Cantagallo-Machalilla Marine Reserve protects 142,266 hectares of Pacific Ocean waters between the continental and island portions of Machalilla National Park, off the cantons of Puerto Lopez, Jipijap

Cantagallo-Machalilla

Cayambe Coca National Park features diverse ecosystems ranging from high-altitude páramo to tropical rainforest. The park is home to the Cayambe volcano and numerous lakes and waterfalls. It protects 

Cayambe Coca

Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve is the southernmost and largest of three biological reserves in the Cordillera del Condor, protecting remote cloud forest and páramo ecosystems in Zamora Chinchipe pr

Cerro Plateado

Chimborazo Wildlife Reserve is dominated by the iconic Chimborazo volcano, at 6,310 meters the farthest point from Earth's center due to the equatorial bulge. The reserve was established primarily to 

Chimborazo

Cofan Bermejo Ecological Reserve was established in 2002 to protect biodiversity and the natural resources of the Cofán indigenous communities, one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Amazon. The reser

Cofan Bermejo

Colonso-Chalupas Biological Reserve protects 93,246 hectares of cloud forest and Amazonian lowland ecosystems along the eastern Andean foothills in Napo province. The reserve spans altitudes from 560 

Colonso-Chalupas

Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve is one of Ecuador's largest protected areas, spanning from the Andean highlands at the Cotacachi volcano down to lowland tropical rainforest in Esmeraldas. It cont

Cotacachi-Cayapas

Cotopaxi National Park is dominated by the iconic Cotopaxi volcano, one of the world's highest active volcanoes. The park features páramo landscapes, wild horses, and diverse wildlife including Andean

Cotopaxi

Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve is one of Ecuador's largest and most biodiverse protected areas, covering 590,000 hectares of pristine Amazon rainforest in Sucumbíos province bordering Colombia. The reserve

Cuyabeno

El Angel Ecological Reserve protects unique high-altitude páramo ecosystems in northern Ecuador near the Colombian border. The reserve is renowned for its spectacular frailejones (Espeletia) plants, g

El Angel

El Boliche National Recreation Area is one of Ecuador's smallest protected areas, nestled on the slopes of Cotopaxi volcano at the border of Cotopaxi and Pichincha provinces. The area is dominated by 

El Boliche

El Condor Biological Reserve protects a critical section of the Cordillera del Condor, a remote mountain range along the Peru-Ecuador border with extraordinarily high plant endemism. The reserve was e

El Condor

El Pambilar Wildlife Refuge protects 3,123 hectares of extremely biodiverse lowland tropical forest in Esmeraldas province within the Chocó-Darien biodiversity hotspot. The refuge harbors spectacular 

El Pambilar

El Pelado Marine Reserve protects 13,005 hectares of marine habitat and 96 hectares of terrestrial area centered on the El Pelado islet off the coast of Santa Elena province near the town of Ayangue. 

El Pelado

El Quimi Biological Reserve protects Amazon cloud forest and unique highland ecosystems in the Cordillera del Condor range in southeastern Ecuador. The reserve contains extraordinary plant diversity w

El Quimi

El Zarza Wildlife Refuge is a 3,696-hectare protected area in Zamora Chinchipe province adjacent to the Cordillera del Condor biological reserves. The refuge protects montane rainforest ecosystems tha

El Zarza

The Galapagos National Park encompasses most of the Galapagos Islands archipelago, famous for its unique wildlife that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The park features volcanic landsca

Galapagos

The Galápagos Marine Reserve is one of the world's largest marine protected areas, covering approximately 133,000 km² of ocean surrounding the Galápagos Islands. Established in 1998 under the Special 

Galera-San Francisco Marine Reserve is the largest marine protected area in continental Ecuador, covering 54,604 hectares of Pacific Ocean waters along 37 kilometers of coastline in Esmeraldas provinc

Galera-San Francisco

Hermandad Marine Reserve is a 60,000-square-kilometer marine protected area northeast of the Galapagos archipelago, established by presidential decree in January 2022. The reserve creates a biological

Hermandad

Illinizas Ecological Reserve centers on the dramatic twin peaks of Illiniza Norte and Illiniza Sur, reaching 5,263 meters and 5,248 meters respectively. The reserve includes the spectacular Quilotoa c

Illinizas

Isla Corazon y Fragatas Wildlife Refuge protects mangrove islands in the Bahía de Caráquez area of Manabí province on Ecuador's Pacific coast. The refuge is renowned as one of the largest frigatebird 

Isla Corazon y Fragatas

Santa Clara Marine Reserve encompasses the waters surrounding Isla Santa Clara and its islets at the entrance of the Gulf of Guayaquil, extending two nautical miles around the island. The marine zone 

Isla Santa Clara

Isla Santay National Recreation Area is a protected island in the Guayas River between the cities of Guayaquil and Durán. The island protects mangrove forests, wetlands, and dry forest patches accessi

Isla Santay

La Chiquita Wildlife Refuge is a small but ecologically significant protected area of 809 hectares in Esmeraldas province, protecting lowland tropical forest at the southern edge of the Chocó biodiver

La Chiquita

Limoncocha Biological Reserve protects a black-water lake ecosystem in the Ecuadorian Amazon, recognized as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The Limoncocha Lagoon is a former oxbow of the

Limoncocha

Llanganates National Park is known for its rugged mountain terrain and mysterious history linked to Incan treasure. The park contains diverse ecosystems from páramo to cloud forest, with numerous lake

Llanganates

Los Samanes National Recreation Area is an 851-hectare protected urban park in northern Guayaquil, recognized as one of the largest urban parks in Latin America. The reserve preserves tropical dry for

Los Samanes

Machalilla National Park includes both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, protecting tropical dry forest and important marine habitats. The park features pristine beaches, archaeological sites, and th

Machalilla

Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve protects one of the last remaining stretches of western Ecuadorian wet tropical forest in the Chocó-Darien biodiversity hotspot. The reserve spans coastal mountains re

Mache-Chindul

Manglares Cayapas-Mataje Ecological Reserve protects one of the world's most important mangrove ecosystems along Ecuador's northern Pacific coast near the Colombian border. The reserve is designated a

Manglares Cayapas-Mataje

Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve is one of Ecuador's largest coastal protected areas, situated in the Guayas River estuary south of Guayaquil. The reserve protects extensive mangrove forests, dry 

Manglares Churute

Manglares El Morro Wildlife Refuge protects 10,030 hectares of mangrove ecosystems and marine habitats in the Gulf of Guayaquil near the town of El Morro. The refuge is one of the best places in Ecuad

Manglares El Morro

Manglares El Salado Wildlife Reserve protects vital mangrove ecosystems on the western outskirts of Guayaquil in the Gulf of Guayaquil estuary. The reserve encompasses esteros (tidal channels), canals

Manglares El Salado

Manglares Estuario del Rio Esmeraldas Wildlife Refuge is one of Ecuador's smallest protected areas, covering 242 hectares of mangrove forest at the mouth of the Esmeraldas River where it meets the Pac

Manglares Estuario del Rio Esmeraldas

Manglares Estuario del Rio Muisne Wildlife Refuge protects the mangrove estuarine ecosystem of the Muisne River in Esmeraldas province. The refuge harbors important populations of American crocodiles,

Manglares Estuario del Rio Muisne

Pacoche Coastal Marine Wildlife Refuge protects 5,044 hectares of terrestrial ecosystems and 8,586 hectares of marine-coastal environments along Manabí province's Pacific coast. The terrestrial sectio

Pacoche

Parque El Lago National Recreation Area is centered around a large artificial lake created by the Chongon Dam on the Guayaquil-Salinas highway. The 2,283-hectare reserve preserves tropical dry forest 

Parque El Lago

Pasochoa Wildlife Refuge preserves a rare remnant of original high Andean forest that once covered the slopes of the extinct Pasochoa volcano near Quito. The 500-hectare refuge is managed by the Funda

Pasochoa

Playas de Villamil National Recreation Area protects 14 kilometers of Pacific coastline and beach ecosystems at General Villamil Playas, one of the closest beach destinations to Guayaquil. The reserve

Playas de Villamil

Podocarpus National Park is renowned for its exceptional biodiversity and endemic species, particularly birds and plants. The park encompasses various ecosystems from high-altitude páramo to tropical 

Podocarpus

Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve is the first protected area established on Ecuador's mainland, created in 1967 to protect a unique inhabited volcanic caldera just 14 kilometers north of Quito. The cald

Pululahua

Puntilla Santa Elena Wildlife Reserve is a marine protected area at the westernmost tip of mainland Ecuador on the Santa Elena Peninsula, where cold Humboldt Current waters meet tropical Pacific seas.

Puntilla Santa Elena

Puyango Petrified Forest Protected Area contains one of the largest petrified wood deposits in the world, preserving fossilized trees from the Cretaceous period 96 to 112 million years ago. The site a

Puyango

Quimsacocha National Recreation Area protects high-altitude páramo and volcanic lake ecosystems in Azuay province south of the Cajas National Park. Named for its three volcanic lagoons in Quechua, the

Quimsacocha

Río Negro Sopladora

Best Parks in Ecuador

Yasuni National Park is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, containing Amazon rainforest ecosystem. The park is home to numerous indigenous communities and countless species of plants and anim

Sangay National Park features three active volcanoes including the namesake Sangay volcano. The park spans multiple ecosystems from glaciers to tropical rainforest, with exceptional biodiversity. It p

National Parks in Ecuador

Top 10 Parks in Ecuador

Galapagos

Galapagos

Yasuni

Chimborazo

Cotopaxi

Sangay

Hermandad

Antisana

Cayambe Coca

Cotacachi-Cayapas

Top Parks by Category

Top 10 Parks for Uniqueness in Ecuador

Galapagos

Galapagos

Chimborazo

Hermandad

Yasuni

Pululahua

Antisana

Cotacachi-Cayapas

Cotopaxi

Cuyabeno

All Parks (55)

Galapagos

Galapagos

Yasuni

Cotopaxi

Chimborazo

Sangay

Hermandad

Pululahua

Cotacachi-Cayapas

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