CUENCA ECUADOR
TOURS
Ecuador's best guarded treasures, Cuenca , is also known as the "Athens of Ecuador" (La Atenas del Ecuador), because many notable writers, philosophers, artists and poets were born in Cuenca. Additionally, even though Cuenca is the economic center of Southern Sierra, it still maintains its old traditions. Many travelers like to visit the Azuay province and enjoy its beautiful landscapes, delicious typical food, buy handicrafts, or visit tourist centers.
Most of the streets in Cuenca are made of cobblestone, its buildings have an old colonial look with colorful balconies and its charming plazas and markets are very well preserved.
Cuenca is surrounded by four rivers, 52 churches and monasteries (See also Churches, and Museums in Cuenca)
AIRPORT TRANSFER TO/FROM CUENCA HOTELS
CITY TOUR OF CUENCA (3 HOURS)
NATIONAL PARK EL CAJAS AND LAGOONS (8 HOURS)
GUALACEO & CHORDELEG ( 8 HOURS)
CUENCA (3DAYS/2NIGHTS )
EXCURSION TO INGAPIRCA RUINS (1 DAY)
INGAPIRCA RUINS & TRAIN WITH LUNCH ( 1 DAY)
EXCURSION TO GIRON WATERFALLS AND YUNGUILLA VALLEY ( DAY)
TRANSFER CUENCA/GUAYAQUIL VIA CAJAS OR HACIENDA
TRANSFER TO/FROM AIRPORT HOTEL CUENCA
Transfer between the Airport of Cuenca and one of the conventional hotels in Cuenca or viceversa.
CITY TOURS OF CUENCA
3 hours
This city is considered by many, as the most beautiful and picturesque in Ecuador.
Its cabblestone streets, graceful wrought-iron balconies, and flowered plazas will captivate you.
Its market places and handycrafts are a living testimony of the region’s rich Indian and artistic heritage.
Take advantage of this unique opportunity to buy tapestries, silver jewelry or the well-known Panama hats that are only made in Ecuador. We will also travel to the Museum of the
“Banco Central”, built on the remains of the Inca Palace of Pumapungo
which includes archeology, art, folklore and ethnic aspects.
Altitude: 2550 m / 8364 ft
Departs: 9 am
Level: easy
It includes:
- Private or semi private transportation
- Bilingual guides
- Entrance fees paid to places listed
Optional: Lunch
NATIONAL PARK EL CAJAS AND LAGOONS
8 hours
El Cajas National Park extends over an area of about 34 km2. Is located on the westside of Cuenca. The presence of glaciers in the past has given origin to a great variety of lakes, of
different size. In total there are more than two hundred thirty. Their landscapes are lonely and astonishing, their geology is interesting and all these places are full with wild life.
A unique forest containing polylepis, mosses, lichens, and other fungi. Having covered the area. El Cajas is one of the most important national parks to visit in Ecuador.
Altitude: 3500 m / 11480 ft
Departs: 9 am
Level: moderate
It includes:
- Private or semi private transportation
- Bilingual guides
- Entrance fees paid to places listed
- Lunch or Box Lunch
GUALACEO AND CHORDELEG
8 hours
Less than a hour from Cuenca is the town of Gualaceo, interesting for due to
beautiful tapestries. It is inserted in a welcoming valley crossed by the river of the same name.
Some minutes in car aid you to an interesting town called Chordeleg. Its citizens are famous filigree jewelers in silver and gold, and known for their good prices.
A beautiful tour to enjoy the people and their landscapes.
CUENCA 3 DAYS TOUR
3 days / 2 nights
This 3 days tour gives you the opportunity of visit the city of Cuenca in the most complete way. You will have enough time to travel through the city and do some shopping of the famous handicrafts. We will do a full day city tour visiting the most attractive and important places such as the town of San Joaquin, where the women make beautiful baskets. You will have the chance to choose an additional excursion among Gualaceo and Chordelog, El Cajas or Ingapirca, according to your interests.
EXCURSION TO THE INGAPIRCA RUINS (1 DAY)
Departure from Cuenca toward the Inca Ruins of Ingapirca, the biggest archaeological Inca complex of Ecuador.
The ruins, located just two hours away from Cuenca, date from the 15 th and 16 th Century. On the way, you will observe typical handcrafts from the region, but above all, the Panama Hats Fabrics.
On Sundays you will also visit the Handcraft Market of Cañar. And after the excursion, you will enjoy a typical meal from the region of Cuenca.
INGAPIRCA RUINS & TRAIN WITH LUNCH
We will leave from Cuenca for the train station to board the train (ticket is not included) and begin our adventure travelling through unforgettable countryside towards Alausí. Here we will start a spectacular descent on the famous “Devil´s Nose”, a work classified as one of the major engineering achievements at tha start of the 20th century. After finishing the journey, we will visit Ingapirca Ruins (Entrance is not included) and return to Cuenca.).
EXCURSION TO GIRON WATERFALLS AND YUNGUILLA VALLEY
We will leave to Giron to take a hike up to the incredible waterfall Chorro de Girón. After that, we will enjoy the warn climate of the Yunguilla valley, where we can witness the distillation process of sugar cane liquor. Lunch and return to Cuenca.
TRANSFER CUENCA/GUAYAQUIL VIA CAJAS OR HACIENDA
Departure from Cuenca through the Cajas National Park (Entrance is not included) and during this path you can see some of the lakes and marvelous plants and trees of this area. Then you can visit the Jambelí or similar Farm at Puerto Inca zone. Set menu lunch. Into the farm you can see the production cacao process and also the bananas plantations, shrimps production. Departure until Guayaquil.
PICTURES OF CUENCA ECUADOR
MAP OF CUENCA ECUADOR