The City of Cuenca - Ecuador

Cuenca City Tour of the Old Town

Walking through Cuenca's cobblestone streets, we will visit La Merced church and the flower market. We will continue to San Sebastian colonial neighborhood, Calderon Park, the blue domed Cathedral, the cañari Ruins of Pumapungo and the beautiful Inca Gardens by the river side, with an extraordinary sample of local plants both medicinal and edible. The romantic El Barranco with its peaceful river, gardens and “hanging houses” is also a must. We will finish the tour with a visit to the Conceptas cloister / museum with its wonderful collection of religious art and finally drive to Turi Hill for a panoramic view of the city.

The Inca Ruins of Ingapirca

About 1 hour north of Cuenca we find the historical ruins of Ingapirca (Wall of the Inca), the largest archeological ruins in Ecuador. Ingapirca was originally built by the Cañari indians as a temple and observatory and later expanded by the Inca Huayna Capac tu be used as a resting house for Inca messengers and other travelers going through the Inca Trail, a garrison, a resting place for the emperor and a temple. The most noticeable construction is the ellipse-shaped Coricancha (Temple of the Sun) with perfectly fitting green diorite stone. A small archaeological site-museum will provide more in-depth information of daily life and ceremonies held at Ingapirca.

El Cajas National Park

This national park with astounding scenery is only 40 minutes away from Cuenca. With over 200 lakes and ponds formed by the remains of a glacial valley, the rugged and beautiful El Cajas National Park has a total extension of 28,800 hectares with altitudes ranging from 300 to 4,500m / 984 to 14,764ft above sea level, although most of the park is over the 3,000m / 9,843 ft mark. This territory, surrounded by the typical tundra-like environment of the paramo, is home to hummingbirds, partridges, condors, hawks, spectacle bears, white tail deer, tapir, and many other Andean species.