Cuenca-Ecuador southern andes

Studio apartments full furnished for rent

Terradiversa Active travel tours and trips in Ecuador and Peru

Cuenca and Southern Andes

Cuenca is strategically located in the center of southern Ecuador. This allows us to offer you fascinating trips from here to the very best destinations in the region, which could be reached in a short time. TerraDiversa has a large variety of cultural and adventurous trips allowing passengers to experience and enjoy the truly highlights of a beautiful and diverse geographic region.

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Cuenca City Tour

Private, Any Day, Half Day

A walking tour of the old town will take us through magnificent churches, beautiful old buildings with wrought iron balconies and carved wooden doors, flower and handicrafts markets, art galleries, workshops and all the wonders that Cuenca, with its colonial style and pleasant atmosphere, offers its visitors. We will also ride along the Tomebamba River, while admiring the ancient houses perched on the river bank above. We will drive through some modern neighborhoods and enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the vantage point of Turi. We will also visit ceramic art gallery, a straw hat factory or an artist’s workshop, depending on your personal preferences.

Shared Basis, Tue/Thu/Sat, 3 Hours

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Cuenca's charms in a day

Private, Any Day, Full Day

This is the perfect combination of a city tour with emphasis on the handcraft produced in the area. Since Cuenca is considered the main crafts center of the country, on this trip we concentrate on visiting the workshops where jewelry, paja toquilla (straw fiber), leather, different types of ceramics, iron, wood carvings, textiles, basketry, fireworks and other crafts are made. Cuenca is also home to several art and handcraft galleries, exhibiting work by famous artists, painters, and sculptors such as Eduardo Vega (ceramics), Manuel Pulla (various), Simon Cordero (jewelry), Homero Ortega (Panama hats).

Regarding museums, we could choose among the Banco Central (archeology, ethnography, on-site ruins and Inca gardens), Museo de las Culturas Aborígenes (archeology and history of Ecuadorian cultures), Museo del Monasterio de las Conceptas (religious art and history of a cloister from the 1500s).

This tour will give us the opportunity to enjoy everything that Cuenca has to offer, including lunch at one of Cuenca’s traditional restaurants.

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Craft-making & Orchid Villages (Gualaceo & Chordeleg)

private, Any Day, Full Day

Cuenca is surrounded by villages where skilled artisans work wonders. Among these are Gualaceo, with its markets that are especially crowded on Fridays & Sundays, where you can observe hand-woven shawls, ponchos and lots of fruits and vegetables on sale. We also visit Bulcay for Ikat weaving and Chordeleg “chorro de oro” (waterfall of gold), a village specialized in jewelry - mainly gold and silver - with fine filigree work; hand made ceramic pottery and the chance to observe people weaving Panama hats and other items made of toquilla straw. One of the highlights on this trip is the visit to Ecuagenera, the most important orchid growing laboratory in Ecuador, which aim is to study and preserve the different species existent through time. Among their achievements, they have discovered 12 new species and 1 gender. During the visit we could observe hundreds of species and learn a bit about these amazing and beautiful plants. Lunch is included in a countryside hacienda.

Shared Basis, Fri / Sun, Full Day

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Cuenca craft-making & Orchid Villages

private, Any Day, 10 Hours

This tour combines a shorter version of the Craft making & Orchids villages with an afternoon city tour. Lunch included in a local typical restaurant.

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Ingapirca & Cañari Culture

Private, Any Day, Full Day

After an hour and a half along the Pan-American Highway enjoying amazing countryside Andean landscapes, we reach the most important and well-preserved Inca complex in the country, Ingapirca, which was originally a worshipping temple for the sun. Here we do an easy walk around the ruins and visit the site museum. Additionally, depending on the day of the week, we also visit picturesque Cañari Indian markets observing their traditional colorful customs, visit other smaller ruins in the area, indigenous communities, local artisans, beautiful churches and/or other highlights found on the way. Lunch is included in a local restaurant.

Shared Basis, Wed/Fri/Sun, Full Day

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El Chorro waterfall & Yunguilla Valley

Private, Any Day, Full Day

A day full of contrasts, we first stop at the historical site of the battle of Portete (1829), from where we also admire the wonderful view of the subtropical valley of Yunguilla in the middle of the canyon surrounded by rugged mountain ranges. We then stop at the 104m high waterfall of Chorro de Girón, which is surrounded by cloud forest perfect for our short hike. We then go down the road descending in altitude until we reach the subtropical farming area of Yunguilla at 1500m for sugar cane, bananas, coffee, flowers, fruits and other crops. Lunch included at a local restaurant or private farm.

Shared Basis, Tue/Sat, 8 Hours

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Devil´s Nose Train + Ingapirca

Private, Wed/Fri/Sun, 12 Hours

Between Riobamba and Cuenca, we find two of the most interesting destinations in our country. The Devil’s Nose train ride is a famous portion of the Ecuadorian railway accessible from Alausí, where in order to descend a sheer mountain face, the railway engineers decided to build a zig-zag track where the train descends backwards for over 2 km. Once back in Alausí, the trip continues south along the Pan-American Highway, with another stop to visit Ingapirca, the main Inca ruins in the country. We then continue to Cuenca for a late afternoon arrival. Packed lunch is included. Starting in Cuenca or Alausí.

Shared Basis, Wed/Fri/Sun, 12 Hours

Similar itinerary to the private basis trip. Ingapirca is visited in the afternoon and trip ends again in Cuenca.

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Cuenca to Guayaquil, Riobamba or Vilcabamba, visiting: Ingapirca, Tropical Farm, Devil´s Nose, Loja or Saraguro

Private, Any Day, 10 Hours

When traveling between Cuenca and Guayaquil, Riobamba or Vilcabamba, the trip can include a 3 hour visit (approx) to the most important destinations located on the way. On route to Guayaquil, we could visit Ingapirca or a tropical hacienda on the coast. In the case of Riobamba, the visit would be to Ingapirca or the Devil’s Nose train ride. If Vilcabamba is the case, then we include a visit to Loja, Saraguro market (on Sundays) or artisans in the local communities. Instead of the above sites, we could also do a short city tour of Cuenca, Guayaquil, Riobamba or Loja. Only one site can be visited during the trip. Packed lunch is included.

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Cuenca to Guayaquil visiting El Cajas National Park

When traveling between Cuenca and Guayaquil the trip can include a 3 hour visit (approx) to El Cajas National Park. During that time, we will visit the main sites and do a short hike.

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Temaskal - the sacred sauna

Private, Any Day, Full Day

Temaskal o Inipi is an ancestral ceremony of the American cultures practiced from Alaska to Fire Land. It is a purification ceremony that uses a simple tent similar to an igloo, known as the sacred healing circle. A hole inside the tent symbolizes the maternal womb represented in the mother’s earth. Many stones previously heated in a big bonfire outside the tent, are introduced and deposited into the hole. The steam is produced by water, copal and other medicinal and ritual herbs and plants sparkled in the stones.

During the ceremony participants invocate the 4 natural elements water, earth, fire and wind to honor live and time, by practicing meditation exercises and ritual songs which simulates the act of going back to the sacred and pure time spent in the maternal womb and coming back to a new life. Besides the ceremonial ritual, this purification healing bath has therapeutic benefits that help the breathing, digestive and nervous systems.

An appropriate ceremonial site has to be an energetic place; so there are a couple of places near Cuenca where it could be done. The ceremony last 3-5 hours and normally starts in the middle of the afternoon or at sunset.

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Sharing the Saraguro Culture

Private, Any Day (best on sat-sun), 2 Days / 1 Night

The Saraguro people see in tourism a valuable way to bring back and preserve their traditions and culture in order to share it with visitors. They are very welcoming and willing to show us part of their daily life, turning this trip into one of the best experiences of rural, agro and community tourism. They are very proud of their indigenous roots so they wear their typical customs and practice ancestral rituals.

On day 1, we will visit several nearby villages wee skilled artisans produce fine textiles (ponchos, skirts, belts, bed & table cover, etc), decorative and utilitarian ceramic, ship wool hats and colorful jewelry mainly made of beads and silver. Also we will visit their organic orchards were they grow many of the vegetables, fruits and herbs used in their diet. Lunch will be a very special one, as we will be introduced to their sharing rituals of the “Pinshi Mikuna” in company of a Saraguro family. In the afternoon we will do a hike up to their sacred waterfall where we will be part of a shamanic energizing ritual. The Yachags (shamans) invocate in conjunction with the participants to their sacred natural elements (wind, fire, water, earth, sun and moon) to regain positive energy. At night we will enjoy some folkloric music played by local musicians.

On day 2 we will drive down to the community of Gera where we will participate in the production of the Huajango, a fermented drink made from agave (same as used for tequila). We will also visit a small house-museum that shows how a Saraguro house looks like and what they use in their daily life. Afterwards we leave Saraguro in direction south for an hour to the town of Susudel where we visit the Susudel Organic Farm. Here we will enjoy a typical lunch with the products made in the farm and then visit the agricultural grounds and the old colonial farm and church. At mid afternoon we continue our way back to Cuenca, making this trip a wonderful, never forgetting experience.

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The Valley of Eternal Youth & Saraguro

Private, Any Day, 3 Days / 2 Nights

The most southern province of the Ecuadorian Andean region, Loja, is full of interesting natural and cultural highlights. This trip combines those sites, starting with a visit to Saraguro, the center of a very special Indian group, where we will witness parts of their traditions and handcraft work. Vilcabamba is located in a warm subtropical valley with a very pleasant and relaxed atmosphere excellent for hiking or simply enjoying the natural scenery and landscape. It is known for its spa facilities and laid back life style. We also visit the Podocarpus N.P. for a walk on the cloud forest area of Cajanuma. Finally we tour around the city of Loja known for having excellent urban planning and very interesting visitor sites. We then return to Cuenca.

Day 1: Cuenca – Saraguro – Vilcabamba
Day 2: Vilcabamba and surroundings
Day 3: Podocarpus Nacional Park – Loja – Cuenca

Notice that Saraguro market day is on Sunday.
Optionally passengers could be drop off at the airport for flights out of Loja.
This trip could also be extended to 4 days, in which case we include a visit to the town of Zamora, 60km down an amazing winding road that reaches the jungle part of the Podocarpus National Park known as Bombuscaro.

Overview:

Overnight at Vilcabamba SPA country inn
Easy activities of 5 – 8 hours a day
Highland terrain elevations from 2,600 to 4,200 m

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Treasures of the South

3 Days / 2 Nights

These amazing destinations are located in the southern most provinces of El Oro (coast) and Loja (Andes). From Cuenca to the coast we enjoy green fertile valleys, then the Jubones dessert and once on flat land we ride along miles of banana, cocoa and coffee plantations. As we drive slightly up into the low tropical hills, we reach one of the most spectacular protected areas, where you don’t need to be a birdwatcher to enjoy seeing an amazing amount and diversity of humming birds flying around you. Jocotoco also hosts many other interesting birds as toucans and umbrella birds, so here we do some hiking to explore this wonderful site. At the end of the day we reach Zaruma for overnight.

The next day’s highlight is the old mining town of Zaruma perched on a hill top with beautiful wooden colonial style houses, where we will spend the day exploring the outstanding architecture of the town and other interesting sites around it. On day 3 we drive south and very near to the Peruvian border we reach an area known as Puyango. This is one of the few Petrified Forests in the world where we see enormous petrified tree trunks, in the middle of a beautiful dry forest and also in the river that crosses it.

Day 1: Cuenca – Jocotoco - Zaruma
Day 2: Zaruma & surroundings
Day 3: Puyango – return to Cuenca

This program could be combined with the valley of eternal youth and Saraguro for a whole exploration of the southern provinces of Ecuador.

Overview:

Overnight at local hotels
Easy sightseeing activities of 8 - 10 hours a day
Highland to lowland terrain elevations from 2500m to sea level

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TerraDiversa travel & adventure
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