Camping on Pico de Pez | An adventurous photographer
Photoshoot Tip: Golden hour light hits the ridge beautifully around 5:30–6:00 PM
Best Time to Go: Late afternoon for sunset or sunrise overnights
One of the biggest attractions for me to living in Cuenca is how close you are to nature. As an adventurous photographer, there’s not much better. Within a half an hour’s drive, you can be transported into completely serene places that appear to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by animals, mountains, and running streams.
Though it’s easy to take it for granted and stick to the city life, I get out and enjoy it at every opportunity I can.
When one of our friends suggested we go camping on top of Pico de Pescado (Fish Beak Mountain in English), I was up for it right away. Pico de Pez is known for its peak which resembles a fish’s mouth, if it was viewed from the side and the lips were pointing straight up into the air. It sits at about 3,800m and is located on the outskirts of the city of Cuenca, in the Cajas National Park.
If you know about the Andes Mountains, that will give you an idea of what it looks like, if not, think endless rolling mountains, rivers, streams and grasslands.
We took a taxi up to the trail head, not keen to make the walk from town with our camping equipment on our backs. A late start meant we were hiking up into the dark, with only one in our group knowing the way, we were all unsure of where exactly we were going or what we were getting ourselves into. After a few hours of plodding along in a line, we had reached the ridge line at the top. Finding a place slightly down off the highest point, we got out of the wind and danger of being struck by lightning.
It was cold, we were hungry and couldn’t see much so we found the driest part of ground we could and pitched our tents. Everyone crowded around and laughed about the journey we had just been through and ate our snacks before settling in for a pretty sleepless night.
The morning made it all worth it though. We unzipped our tents and were greeted by stunning views of the sun rising, shining rays down on the city. A freshly brewed coffee, thanks to our guide, was very appreciated. I used it to warm my hands which was frozen from holding my camera.
A secluded spot like this made a great location for some portraits of my companions and our campsite. After enjoying the views and coffee, we packed up our gear and set off for the trip back down.
The landscapes were rugged, the day was clear and I was taking it all in. We took a different route down, not that it would have made much difference as I could’t see much on the way up.
Seeing these views for the first time, I was mostly found at the back of the group, taking photos and enjoying the day. But I must say, once back down, I was glad to be home and ready to sleep in my own bed.
I’m an adventurous photographer here in Cuenca, if you are someone who would love to elope in the mountains, have a couples photoshoot in a unique place you won’t soon forget or need some headshots to impress, reach out book a call with me to start planning your dream photoshoot.
