Ecuador's Southern Andes

Galapagos Expert

Southern Andes

Home to breathtaking protected areas such as El Cajas Recreational Area and the city of Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Azuay is southern Ecuador's most important tourist center. Moreover Azuay is a great place to shop for high quality handcrafts and partake in festive celebrations throughout the year. The area also boasts an ideal climate with temperatures ranging between 12 and 20º degrees centigrade.

Cuenca

Surrounded by mountains, traversed by four rivers, and home to architectural treasures, it's no surprise that Cuenca was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In the Old Town, you will find the Parque Calderon and other colonial parks, plazas, and neighborhoods that date back to the first days of the Spanish Conquest of the area. Religious art museums showcasing some of Ecuador's most impressive artwork are also found here. Also to be admired in this area are architecturally impressive buildings and churches such as the Old and New Cathedrals, Santo Domingo, San Sebastian, and San Blas, to name a few. The city is also famous for holding the International Art Fair. The city's many museums include: Banco Central, Casa de la Cultura, Conceptas Convent, Remigio Crespo Toral, Artes Populares de America, Arte Moderno, and Instituto Azuayo de Folclore. With so much cultural heritage, Cuenca was also chosen as the Cultural Capital of all the Americas in 2002.

Azuay province and Cuenca history can be traced back as far as 8000 BC, when the first inhabitants of this area, nomadic hunting tribes and food collectors appeared. Around 200 BC there was a manifestation of the first agricultural settlements in the Southern part of the province. Later these settlements joined together politically and religiously forming the great Cañari nation with its great army and excellent artists, who worked with ceramics, metals and textiles.

The Incan conquest began in approximately 1470. The Incas introduced a new culture with reforms in language, religion, political organization, agriculture and artisan techniques. The Incas were a great influence and their presence is felt even today. Archeological sites like Ingapirca and Pumapungo are examples of the greatness of the Incan Empire in Ecuador.

Spanish Conquistadors arrived around 1530 and "Santa Ana de Los Rios de Cuenca" was founded on April 12, 1557 and the colonial history of Cuenca began. With the colonial period Cuenca again saw a cultural change as the Spanish influence brought intense mining, agriculture, cattle grazing and handicrafts. The colonial period also saw an intense process of racial and cultural mixes which changed many things including religion, art and architecture.

Villages and Towns

Gualaceo, in northern Azuay, is famous for its fine woven and embroidered textiles, leatherwork, and ceramics. The central park is surrounded by picturesque colonial style houses, the major church and the handicraft museum. Paute on the other hand, is full of fruit farms and sugar cane plantations and is home to the biggest hydroelectric power station in the country.

Sigsig is well known for its high quality, international known straw aka Panama hats as well as for the quality of apples they produce. You can also visit nearby Chopsi Cave where traces of the regions first inhabitants have been found. The Chopsi Ruins are a group of rock engravings housed in a cave. They consist of large quadrangular buildings surrounded by smaller ones, enclosed by a stonewall.

Chordeleg is famous for the handicraft activity of its inhabitants who are great at creating all types of crafts in ceramic, straw and especially in precious metals such as gold and silver. In addition to the numerous jewelry and craft shops, you may visit interesting pottery workshops in which all types of craft pieces are fabricated using traditional techniques.

Cajas

Located 30km from Cuenca, this protected area of over 28,000 hectares is home to 275 lakes and an abundance of primary forests. Several rivers, some of which flow to the Pacific and others which drain into the Amazon Basin, have their source here. With a temperature that never drops below 10 degrees centigrade, the area is home to a variety of flora and fauna. There are many interesting trails for walking and hiking in the park, but it is advisable to hike with a guide.

Mazan Forest

Rich in flora and fauna, this forest is protected by the ecological group, the Friends of the Mazon as well as the water company. The Mazan Forest is located along the road between Cuenca and Cajas and is home to thousand-year old trees.

Loja

More and more, Ecuador unveils many new hidden treasure for tourism. This spontaneous openness has grasped Loja, a jewel town, still living it's 19th century pace, in many ways. Located in southern Ecuador, Loja is well known among locals, for the Virgen del Cisne religious festivals it organizes, which attract pilgrims from all over the country and from abroad. Loja's popular attractions include the Vilcabamba Valley famous for the longevity of locals, most whom live beyond the age of 100. The town of Loja holds the name of the province, located in the Southern Andes range, where the mountains diminish in altitude giving way to valleys and beautiful scenery. Loja is a city full of delights for the tourist, such as the colorful houses on Lourdes Street in San Sebastian visited by national and international tourists alike. The colonial Old Town and the Cathedral are also noteworthy attractions. Other churches worth a visit are San Francisco, San Agustin, Santo Domingo, and Fatima. They all contain important religious works of art. The "Sentinel of the South", as locals call Loja has history, archaeology, art and handicraft museums worth checking out.

Podocarpus

Located in the southern most Andes of Ecuador, Podocarpus National Park straddles a mountain range called, "El Nudo de Sabanilla", between the cities of Loja and Zamora. Comprising of 146,280 hectares the park ranges in altitude from 950 meters to 3,700 meters and includes a diversity of natural habitats from upper tropical rainforest to alpine Paramo. The National Park was named after the Podocarpus or Romerillo tree, Ecuador's only native species of conifer tree. The diverse ecosystems protected within the Podocarpus National park support rich and varied avifauna. To date 500 bird species have been recorded in and around the park. Since on Cajanuma and Las Palmas areas have been adequately surveyed, the list could rise to somewhere between 600 to 800 species, making Podocarpus National Park one of the most species rich national parks in the world.