Cuenca
Cuenca and I had a rough start to say the least. After being in such small towns for the last few months arriving in the city felt very noisy and crowded. The real turn off came when trying to get a taxi to take us to our couchsurfing house just outside of town. Nine different taxi drivers claimed to have no knowledge of how to get to the address. No one seemed interested in following my phone’s map. Two of the drivers were a bit nasty about it mumbling something under their breath and driving away.
After the ninth driver turned us away we took the tenth taxi into the downtown to search for a hostel. Our first mistake was taking a taxi from the bus terminal. The meter for the short ride came up to $4.50. A ride that should have come up to $1.25 we found out later.
Anyways, after wandering around for a while finding it a bit hard to find accommodations in our price range we grew increasingly more frustrated and of nowhere a bird craps right on my head! Good thing I was wearing a hat. All I could do at that point was laugh and somehow I knew I would end up loving Cuenca.
We finally came across a decent hostel in our price range and settled in for the night. I contacted our would be host and told him we couldn’t make it out to his house. He responded right away saying he should have warned us that the taxis have a special rate when leaving the terminal. Also, they don’t like to leave the downtown area. They make most of their money from the initial fee charged than they do per mile. Making frequent short rides more of a payoff than a single longer ride. If coming to Cuenca at a reasonable hour try catching a taxi outside of the terminal.
Bit of History
Cuenca is one of the most visited cities in Ecuador. Highly regarded for its Spanish colonial architecture. The original inhabitants of the area date back as far as 8060 BC. The Spanish settlement was founded around 1557 (the year is slightly different depending on your sourcing). Cuenca won its independence in 1820, two years before Ecuador won its complete independence from Spain. Today, Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador with over 300,000 inhabitants. Its continually growing as an important center for both Ecuadorians and the expat communities of Ecuador.
Best of Cuenca in 3 Days
-Day 1
- Spend your first day wandering around the downtown area admiring the architecture. Notable highlights include Catedral de Immaculada and Plaza Abdon Calderon. You could find yourself doing this for days and around every corner you would continue to find crafted masterpieces. This was my absolute favorite part of exploring Cuenca. After nine months in South America this city takes the grand prize of all colonial areas.
- Before sunset head over to Mirador de Turi. A lookout point looking over the city. Arrive by bus at the corner of Avenida Fray Vicente Solano & Avenida 12 de Abril. It’s a short ride leaving around every 20 minutes. Ask the driver to let you know where to get off.
-Day 2
- Visit El Cajas National Park
This is a beautiful park located outside of Cuenca on the way to Guayaquil. Buses leave from the terminal around every hour.
Travel time: 1 hour
Cost: $2 one way. Remember to have some change available. The terminal tax is $0.10 paid to an automated machine.
The driver should let you out along the main road 50 meters from the park’s welcome center. The park is free but you must register with staff (There is a small fee if wanting to camp). They have a large map on the wall (no paper maps available) and will help you decide which route is best for you. There are trails from 3.5 hours to 14 hours with many opportunities to combine trails if you are planning a longer visit. The most popular is the well marked trail one, although we managed to get slightly lost. All part of the adventure, right?! Once done remember to go check in with the welcome center.
Return: To Cuenca go wait for the next passing bus directly opposite of where you were dropped off. They run frequently throughout the day, $2 and about an hour later you’ll be back at the terminal. (Note: if short on time you could visit the park during the morning and continue to Guayaquil directly after your hike. From the park to Guayaquil is around 3.5 hours. The welcome center has a locked closet to hold belongings).
Moving the boulder out of our path 🙂
-Day 3
- The Amaru Bioparque
Our day started with a visit to the bioparque, which is a fancy way of saying zoo. I know what you’re thinking, “Uh, a zoo?! Animals should be free to live in their natural environment”. While we completely agree with you, the truth of the matter is zoos exist. For better or worse they are part of our world and sometimes necessary. Some of the animals ended up here through exotic pet abandonment and human inflected hunting injuries that left the animals in need of help. While not all zoos are created equally we applaud Amaru. All things considered, they have a much more well kept facility than many other animal habitats we have seen in South America including some of the more politically correct “animal sanctuaries”. In additional they have informational sections dedicated to environmental hazards such as hunting, waste and fires.
To Arrive: We arrived for $4 by taxi from the downtown area.
Costs: $3
Travel Time: 15-20 minutes
To Return: It’s best to have the staff call a taxi for you. If not you can walk down to the main road 20 minutes down the hill and flag down a passing ride. Be aware that the main road is a medium sized highway so a bit dangerous. I would highly recommend the first option.
These guys run around the place completely cage free.
These guys have an open air site surrounded by moat. (note not all monkeys here have cage free sites)
Someone was afraid inside the bird exhibit 🙂
This is a man-made replica. Bringing awareness to visitors the species was hunted into extinction.
Did you know plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose???
- Rio Tomebamba
After returning to the downtown area head over to the river just a short walk from the main square. The city does an excellent job at maintaining the river-way. It’s a popular area for locals and visitors to sit and relax among the greenery.
- Parque de la Madre
In addition to Rio Tomebamba you could also visit Parque de la Madre just alongside the river. It’s a nice place to do some people watching or join in on a nightly zumba/yoga session.
-Additional Days???
If you have more time to spend in Cuenca or are completely against the idea of visiting Amaru then check out the following attractions. We didn’t personally visit these sites, but they come highly recommended by our local friends. To be honest with you, after spending months in Peru we were at the point that visiting another ruin site might have drove us to the brink of insanity. Nothing personal Ecuador, we love you!
-
Pumapungo Museo & Arqueologico Site
To Arrive: 30 minute walk from downtown or $2 taxi ride.
Cost: Free
Considerations: We have been told that the onsite information is nearly all in Spanish text only.
-
Ingapirca Ruins
This site is widely considered the most important ruin site in Ecuador. Thought to be an important location for religious practices. The original inhabitants were the Canari. Later this site became Inca. Some reports suggesting that the Canari were conquered. Other reports suggesting the two societies became allies, intermixed and eventually the Inca culture overtook.
To Arrive: The only direct bus leaves Cuenca’s terminal at 9am. $3.50
Cost: $6 for foreigners. Includes the site, the mandatory guide and the museum.
Travel Time: 1.5-2 hours each way..
Return: The bus back to Cuenca leaves at 1pm. It’s a good idea to confirm this with your morning driver. $3.50.
Accommodations
- Mochiliers Hostel- we stayed one night in a private double room $16. Dorms start at $6. This place has an excellent location. Just a few blocks from the main square.
- Air B&B- our top pick. There’s a nice amount of Air B&B selection in the city. Especially if you know your travel dates and are able to book in advanced. We paid $20 for a full capacity studio apartment 15 minute walk from the main square.
Food
- $1 Pizza- our top pick for budget eats. Located on Calle Padre Aquirre just before the intersection with Calle Gaspar Sangurima. Some of the best pizza we have had in Ecuador. Comes with a nasty juice that taste like melted jello. It’s recommend that you kindly refuse the beverage.
- Cremusa Ice Cream- check out the small ice cream shop located on Calle Simon Bolivar just after Calle Padre Aguirre. Not the one on the corner but the one 3 or 4 shops into the block. Order a mora on a cone. You’ll thank me later.
Afterthoughts
Cuenca has quickly become one of my favorite cities in all of South America. The architectural beauty of the city is worth the visit alone. Cuenca is not to be missed.
Bonus
Ecuador’s public sector offers free healthcare to its citizens and its visitors. If planning to visit a Yellow Fever area on your trip you can go to the public office just to the right of The Hospital Militar and receive the medication at no cost. This took about 30 minutes from door to door. Again, I applaud Ecuador for their worldly approach to healthcare. Something that would have costed me $150+ in my own country.
Onward Travel
Buses leave to Guayaquil nearly every hour from 0130 to 2140. Around 4.5 hour travel.
Buses also available to Quito, Banos and Riobamba.
