Road Trip Guide: Conquering Milagrosa Waterfall
Ecuador, south-america
7.6 km
3,806 m
moderate
Year-round
Okay, adventurers, listen up! Wanna chase a miraculous waterfall high in the Ecuadorian Andes? Then you NEED to check out Cascada Milagrosa!
This stunner is tucked away at a whopping 3,806 meters (that's nearly 12,500 feet!) in Napo Province, Ecuador. It's about an hour from Quito, inside the Cayambe Coca National Park, and the drive there is an adventure in itself. The road, known as Carretera Papallacta - Laguna Baños, is paved, but it's a bit of a climb, so a 4x4 is a good idea. They call it "milagrosa" (miraculous) because it's hidden in a Polylepis forest and used to be a spot for shaman rituals!
Starting from Papallacta, one of the highest towns you can drive to, it's about 7.6 km (around 4.7 miles) to the checkpoint near the falls. In that short distance, you'll climb 569 meters, making for an average gradient of around 7.5%. Once you park, it's a super scenic 900-meter walk on a wide, gravel path to reach the falls themselves. Trust me, the views are worth it!
Where is it?
Road Trip Guide: Conquering Milagrosa Waterfall is located in Ecuador (south-america). Coordinates: -1.9813, -78.2265
Road Details
- Country
- Ecuador
- Continent
- south-america
- Length
- 7.6 km
- Max Elevation
- 3,806 m
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Coordinates
- -1.9813, -78.2265
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