Parque Nacional Cajas

Cajas National Park
Juliana Torres Carrasco
The Institution
“Cajas National Park”
• Legal
Establishment:
1996.
• Decentralization
Agreement: 6th of
March 2000.
How to arrive to Cajas National
Park?
• It is located on the
West of the city of
Cuenca. It has two
access roads:
1. North limit: CuencaSayausi-QuinoasMiguir-Molleturo.
2. Southern Limit:
Cuenca-San JoaquinSoldados-AngasChaucha.
Transportation
• Everyday at the bus
terminal in Cuenca
one can board the
buses that go to
Guayaquil through
Cajas.
• The coast is $ 1,50 to
the toreadora refuge
an $ 1,00 to the
entrance of Llaviuco
About nature and Culture
• Rocks are from
Mesozoic era.
• Lake complex come
from the Quaternary
era.
• During the glaciation's
period the graded
lakes in “boxes”.
• Hydrological
Resources: 235 lakes.
Yanuncay and
Tomebamba rivers are
originated in the area.
• Climate: the minimun
temperature is -2ºC
and the maximun
temperature is 18ºC.
• Flora: several species or
orchids, ferns,
huicundos, mosses,
lianas, etc. (Humid
Montane forest)
Straw, cubilan, valerian,
contrahierba, tushig,
romerillo, chuquiragua,
licopodios, ferns,
mosses, quinua tree
(Humid Wasteland).
• Fauna: deer, yamals,
raposos, rabbits, puma,
wild cats, huaguar,
skunks, bats, chuchucho,
chucurillo and wild mice.
• The fishing resources: the
brown and rainbow
trout. Preñadilla (cat fish).
• Among the birds: sparrow
hawks, churiquinga,
condor, ducks, gallareta,
trogon, chaupau,
bluebirds, hummingbird,
Andean tucan, tapaculo,
west land partridge,
Andean gull, etc.
• Cultural resource:
witness of the
presence of precolonial cultures. (the
royal path of the
Inca).
The Atalayas
(sightseeing points).
These ruins are one of
the most important in
Azuay.
Panama Hats
• Since 1630 Panama Hats are hand-woven in Ecuador. They are made
of the fibers from the Toquilla Palm, called Palmata Carludovica.
Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th
century South American goods, were shipped first to the Isthmus of
Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the
Americas, and Europe. In 1906 Theodore Roosevelt wore one of
those hats while visiting the constructions of the Panama Canal.
They're also known as a Jipijapa, named for a town in Ecuador once
a center of the hat trade. The Oxford English Dictionary cites a use of
the term as early as 1834.
• Panama hats are often seen as accessories to summer weight suits,
such as linen or silk. Beginning around the turn of the century,
panamas began to be associated with the seaside and tropical locales,
such as Brighton or the Caribbean. They are usually preferred over
felt hats in such climates for they are light colored, light weight, and
breathable.
• Panama Hats are flexible and can be rolled or folded into a suitcase.
You find Panama Hats in many different styles, for men, women and
children, used all around the globe.
Making process
• Only the unfolded shoots are used.
• First the shoots are split in finer leafs with
help of a metal point. Leaves that are too
soft are separated and later used to cover
houses.
• Then the leaves are cooked for about 20
minutes in hot water and then hung up to
dry. During this process they roll up
vertically and form wearable strings. The
leaves have to be shaken regularly to avoid
that they stick together.
• Then the fibers are separated from each
other and moistened before being woven
into a hat, with help of a wooden form to
get the right head size.
• Especially the beginning of the weaving in
one point and the finishing on the outside of
the wing needs skill and experience.
• For a hat of standard quality a weaver needs
about 8 hours, for fine Montecristi Quality
up to several weeks, using only the finest
fibers.
• The further process is made in the hat
manufactories in Cuenca: the hats are
bleached, dried and steam formed. The next
step is made in our warehouse in Guayaquil,
where the hats get their finish: outside and
inside band, ribbons, tags, labels. And finally
the hats are packed in boxes and shipped by
plane into the whole world.
Cuenca: World Cultural Heritage
Site
• Cuenca, as the majority of the main cities of Ecuador,
developed a history with a mixture of the native
indigenous combined with the Spanish heritage that was
brought along by the European conquerors. However,
Cuenca is located in a valley high up in the mountains
surrounded by other smaller valleys of warmer climate; a
location without easy access. This isolated Cuenca from
the rest of the highlands and the coast as well and thus
allowed this quaint city to develop its own history with
particularities in the life style of its people. Cuenca is a
small jewel in the Andes, considered a World Cultural
Heritage Site. It was declared December first of 1999.
In UNESCO web page we can find
about Cuenca
•
•
•
•
PropertyHistoric Centre of Santa Ana de los Rios de CuencaId.
N°863State
PartyEcuador
CriteriaC (ii) (iv) (v)
• The Committee inscribed the site on the World Heritage List on the
basis of criteria (ii), (iv) and (v).
• Criterion (ii): Cuenca illustrates the successful implantation of the
principles of Renaissance urban planning in the Americas.
• Criterion (iv): The successful fusion of different societies and
cultures in Latin America is vividly symbolized by the layout and
townscape of Cuenca.
• Criterion (v): Cuenca is an outstanding example of a planned inland
Spanish colonial city.
• This Declaration is the fundamental importance for
Cuenca’s people. It increases the conscience that we live
in a prodigal physical space of beauty and cultural
securities. This declaration distinguishes us of other towns,
give us identity and they should be conserved for the
well-being of all the inhabitants of the planet.
• Since this perspective Historical Center of our city is not
something that only belongs to us. It is a very authentic
and exceptional, which gives us a cultural characteristic. It
is of propriety of all countries. It is in the same conditions
as any other place or place that it has been declared in
this condition.