La Laguna del Tigre

Once more we have climbed up the high slopes of the Cordillera de Sabanilla, again with the goal to reach the banks of the mysterious lagoon called “Laguna del Tigre” said to be hidden deep inside the mountains. With the support of two mules carrying our backpacks during the first day - they returned with their owner back home at the ridge where the strong winds and rain made them shiver – we had a good start. On the second day our venture was supported by surprisingly good weather. Even the sun warmed us for a few hours in the morning before the typical afternoon clouds started to come in. Nevertheless, in the late evening hours we reached the valley of the lagoon and set up our camp just below the ridge with sight over the lagoon.

The next day we kept the camp and went down to explore the lagoon and its surroundings but besides an impressive flora found no hints of the ancient cultures that most probably used to hunt in this area but seemed not to live permanently here due to the cold and harsh climate.

Having brought provisions for a week we decided to continue our way further south. So the next day we left the lagoon and hiked along the Cordillera de los Sabanillas, impressed by the wide and untouched mountain scenery with its immense valleys, small rivers and rocky mountain peaks. After two days we reached the “Laguna Los Huicundos” where we set camp in the evening right beside a small stone pyramid. From the ridge we could spot the lights of the small town of Amaluza deep down in the valley. In the morning we found a small path running from east to west which looked like it once was used a lot but now slowly started to disappear.

Spontaneously we decided to drop our original plan to explore the Cordillera further south and instead started to follow the path towards the East. Though the path lost itself several times in the thick mountain grass (Stipa ichu), there were every now and then parts, especially in the higher rockier regions, where it was still clearly visible and we could follow it easily walking on the footsteps of the people who used it in former times to cross the Cordillera along this route (as we should learn days later from an 78 years old farmer on the other side of the mountains they ceased to use this route about 15 years ago!).

Unfortunately, once we crossed the ridge and started to descend down to the junction of the rivers Rio Jibaro and Rio Blanco, forming Rio Palanda, the path more and more faded and we had to cut our way through with the machete. Nevertheless, just before we ran out of provisions we reached the first Finca (farm) on the Palanda side of the Cordillera and from here a comfortable track led us back to civilization, a hot shower and a huge “Churrasco” waiting for us in Palanda...

This tour has been kindly supported by:
Galapagos Cruises
Galapagos Cruceros