Traditions and Peacefulness in Cuenca: The Ever-Beautiful City

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Already in the Pre Columbine Era, the legendary city of Tomebamba was considered one of the Inca Empire’s most beautiful cities. Nowadays, the territory now called Cuenca has still the same fame. Declared a World Heritage City by UNESCO in 1998, this historical World Museum of artists and intellectuals is evidently a special place whose uniqueness can be seen in every little detail since you arrive there.

Cuenca is located in the Ecuadorian Austro Region, 2500m (8200feet) above the sea level. It is a city of peace and harmony: unlike most cities, it is not full of traffic, stress and pollution. It has a perfect climate and 4 rivers run through it, completing a landscape of customs, handcrafts and cultures.

A tour to the city can be divided into two parts: the Colonial and the Modern Cuenca. The first consists of the patrimonial treasure of the city’s churches, parks, colonial houses and cobbled streets: a historical world where the past and present cultures coexist. Among the numerous churches of the area, the cathedral stands out with its two turquoise domes as a monument of great beauty that reminds us of a past of conquistadors and conquered people. When you walk through the streets of this section, you find the millenary indigenous culture and the modern occidental culture joined together by the joy and respect of the local people.

To complement the tour, visiting the colorful flower market found next to the cathedral; watching the painters doing their art works in the surroundings of the Calderón Park; or buying a handmade toquilla straw hat in one of the handcraft stores are some things you can do in that area of the city.

A little bit further to the East is found the San Sebastián Square, where you can visit the Museum of Local Modern Art, a place that gathers together the most outstanding artistic expressions of the modern Cuenca spirit.

Walking to the South, you will find the Tomebamba: a river that runs across Cuenca from West to South where you can have a tour along its waters to discover the city. As you watch the rocks crashing with the endless water movements and the centuries-old houses built on the river shores, you will be able to see the customs of the country’s ancestors that remain alive in the people gathered on the shore to wash their clothes.

Cuenca is also a strategic spot to visit other places in the South of the Andes. In its surroundings are found destinations such as the Cajas National Park, the Andes’ most narrow area with unique landscapes; the Ingapirca ruins, an Incan secret found 1200 miles North from Machu Picchu; and the Santa Bárbara Corridor, a road of endless traditions.

Cuenca can be described as the city that found the way to receive modernity and protect passionately its artistic and cultural identity at the same time. It is difficult to know and describe what the mystery of its beauty really is, although it is very evident that such mystery produces genuine feelings. The city of Cuenca is an example of total conservation of the material and the spiritual heritage, based in a profound respect for the past.

Photo: ironmanixs

The Cajas National Park: Find Beauty in the Andes’ Narrowest Point

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The Cajas National Park is the narrowest point of the Andean mountain range and the one with the best landscapes. It is located close to the city of Cuenca, at 4400m (14435ft) above the sea level and it has a surface of 28500 hectares. Considered a national park since 1996, it is made by an exceptional group of more than 300 small lagoons framed by valleys, rocky plateaus and enchanted forests where unique animal and plant species live. Its highest point is the area of the Tres Cruces Lagoon, the place where the Tomebamba River –the only river on Southern America that is the closest to the Pacific Ocean but has waters from the Atlantic Ocean– is born.

The park is considered part of the North-Andean Endemism Center due to the importance it has regarding the Andean Plateau’s biological diversity. It is the only place in the world where you can find 4 out of the 7 existing species of polylepis, the famous enchanted trees from the fairy tales (polylepis weberbaueri, p. reticulata, p. lanuginosa and p. incana). There are also many endangered species living there, like the Andean condor (vultur gryphus), the deer (odocoileus virginianus), the spectacled bear (tremarctos ornatus), the plateau wolf (dulsicyon culpaeus) and the mountain toucan (andigena laminaris). From an ornithological point of view, the park is also a place of high importance because its lagoons are home for a total of 150 bird species.

A trip to Cajas is worth complementing with activities lasting from a couple of hours to a few days. The whole park is perfect for activities such as hiking, climbing and mountain biking. It also offers a great chance to take beautiful pictures: walking in the middle of the mountains and observing everything there is in this land, it is impossible not to feel like taking out your camera. Regardless the place you may choose for your picture, it can easily come out like a beautiful postcard. The lagoons of Toreadora and Llaviucu are ideal for sport fishing and bird-watching. On the other hand, if you want to spend the night in the immensity of the plateau, a good place to set up your camp is in the shores of the Lagartococha Lake. Whatever activity you may choose to do at this park, the experience will undoubtedly be always unique and wonderful.

The Cajas National Park is one of the best parks in Ecuador to get to know the plateau. It is a Nature sanctuary where a great amount of birds and other endemic species coexist in a large forest of enchanted trees. Furthermore, it is easily accessible, well preserved and simply beautiful.

Photo: Orban López Cruz

The Santa Bárbara Corridor: a Road of Everlasting Traditions

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In the province of Azuay, inside a peculiar area of colorful landscapes by the Santa Bárbara River is found the Santa Bárbara touristic corridor: a region of singular beauty that keeps its traditions alive in the villages of Gualaceo, Sigsig and Chordeleg; a destination that every day gets a larger number of local and international visitors, becoming the region’s most important touristic destination thanks to the support it has received from the state since 2008.

The village of Gualaceo is known for its traditional jerseys or chompas, which are uniquely woven and embroidered in rustic workshops and can be appreciated worn on the local inhabitants as part of their attire. Places such as Bulcay and Bullzhún are handcrafts centers set up for visitors, where you can take a close look at the manufacture of these people, dedicated to the weaving of scarves, blouses, belts, bedspreads, tablecloths and many other products, all of them hand made in bright colors and beautiful designs.

Going forward on the Santa Bárbara corridor is found Chordeleg, a village of unassuming people dedicated to the art of pottery and metalwork. The traditional designs and shapes step out in their ceramic objects, which are decorated with Nature’s elements in blue, green and brown; as well as in the silver and gold products made with the filigree technique, which consists in making jewelry such as earrings, rings and bracelets from very thin gold and silver strings. All of these beautiful objects certainly get the attention of visitors, who will unavoidably purchase one of them at the end of the visit.

Finally, one of the most outstanding and internationally known activities is the weaving of hats and other objects made with a kind of straw called toquilla. This weaving art has been developed by the talented hands of the inhabitants of Sigsig and other rural communities of the region. It is an art that has gone beyond frontiers and time that tourist can even purchase directly from their home countries.

The Santa Bárbara corridor is full of nature and culture; it is a route of discovery and fun. At the end of the day, you will not only have taken a souvenir with you, but also the feeling of having enriched yourself with a different and extraordinary way of life.

Article by:  Diario El Ciudadado
Photo: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Ecuador

Ingapirca: An Inca Secret 1200mi North of Machu Picchu

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Five hundred years ago, the Inca Emperor Huayna Capac constructed a building complex called Ingapirca, or Inca’s Wall. It remains a living testimony that unveils a lost culture that once was, in fact, bigger than the Roman Empire.

In the Ecuadorian city of Cañar, 1200mi north from Machu Picchu, this magnificent construction was erected between valleys and mountains where llamas and alpacas graze, a place among eucalyptus and potato fields covered by the fog and the modest rain.

When arriving to Ingapirca, the contrast of colors between the landscape and the construction is the first thing that gets the attention. It’s impossible not to wonder what did the place look like five hundred years ago, when there where buildings such as a room constructed in alignment with the moon where religious rituals and cults to this natural satellite took place; a big plaza used for celebrations that could gather more than 3000 people; an exclusive area for “The Sun Virgins”, women chosen at the age of 12 to serve the High Priests that would sometimes cook the meals for the sun festival; and a room used only for the priests’ prayers.

Perhaps the most impressive construction of this complex is the Ingapirca Castle, which is the only known oval-shaped Inca building, erected as a cult to the Sun god. The perfect alignment with the sun (at 0°) that the Incas made with this construction provides the best illumination for its rooms during the solstices of June and December. This also reveals their advanced astrological knowledge.

In the surroundings of Ingapirca we can appreciate some elements that feed the mystery of this culture. Such is the case of the “Inca Face”, a mountainous formation that reveals a possibly genuine shape of a face. Another element is the “Moon Calendar”, a stone with several holes that were filled with water, serving as mirrors where the Incas could see the moon’s reflection and in this way tell the date. Finally, there is the “Inca Trail”, a 31mi route (3 days walking distance) starting at the village of Achullapas and leading to Ingapirca. This route allows us to see and live the same trail the Incas once walked.

All these astonishing features take us to the time where the king, the priests, the Inca society, their buildings and the environment, all interacted to create the legend of The Incas, a culture that, in spite of being already extinct, still surprises us. As you will discover, Ingapirca is an archaeological complex that connects us with the Inca experience. It is not just about its construction, but also about its culture. It’s an encounter with the world’s origins and with ourselves, a feeling of inner peace.

Ingapirca is a journey to ancient times, and what is experienced there, becomes unforgettable. At the end of the visit, and according to the Incas’ belief, a part of the visitor stays in the place, as a part of the Inca soul stays in the visitor.

Photo: jrubinic