Tour of the historic center on foot . Visit the Calderon Park, the majestic New and Old Cathedrals , Plaza de las Flores , El Barranco , El Puente Roto, Mirador de Turi, with its breathtaking panoramic view of the city.
After this visit we head towards gardens Uzhupud the best hostelry in southern Ecuador, to take lunch. Visit the handicraft villages of Gualaceo and Chordeleg continues. In Gualaceo Central Park, fruit markets and "" pigs "" hornados, typical dish of the area is covered. Visit a craft workshop of the famous "" Macanas "" or "" Shawls IKAT "" typical dress of our Cuencana Chola.
And tour the banks of the Rio Santa Barbara. Tourist is then moved to the town of Chordeleg where you can observe abundance of works in gold, silver, ceramics and wood. Gualaceo and Chordeleg are surrounded by beautiful landscapes and welcoming.
The day starts early in the morning to Ingapirca. Along the way, tourists will have the opportunity to observe craftsmen engaged in weaving straw shawl.
Once in Ingapirca to visit the archaeological complex and museum is made. Our guide will explain the history of our ancestors Cañar- Incas and how the complex was built . Walk between the archeological ruins(Approximately 2 hours. ).
Lunch at Hostería place. Returning to a stop at Biblián Cuenca , a place where the Church of the Virgen del Rocio, known for its architecture , old and building on top of the mountain is made. After lunch, return to Cuenca, visit the main attractions of the city: Parque Calderon, New and Old Cathedrals and El Barranco, el Puente Roto, a hat factory and Ron Cava de San Miguel (optional - additional cost). Return to hotel.
The city tour will start at the Plaza San Sebastian, which constitutes the western colonial border of the city of Cuenca. Then visit the modern arts museum where many contemporary artworks are displayed. We will walk by the downtown historical area to visit the San Francisco market, the flower market, the culture house, the Abdon Calderon Park, and the old cathedral (we will not enter). We will enter in the New Cathedral, it’s the biggest in the country there we’ll observe the famous gold leaf canopy.
We continue the tour to the Homero Ortega Panama Hat factory to observe the complete process of manufacturing of the Panama hat which is undoubtedly most important to our country. Later we will visit the “barranco” with its colonial style terraced houses located next to the “Tomebamba River”. Also we will also observe the “broken bridge” and finally visit the tourist balcony of “Turi” where we can see a panoramic view of the whole city of Cuenca. Then return to the Hotel.
We will go to the railroad station in “Alausi” located 160 km north of the city of Cuenca; on the route taken we will see unforgettable Andean Landscapes, and then arrive in San Pedro de Alausi.
Here we begin a dramatic decline of 1h 30min aboard a train, which goes by the famous “Devils Nose” mountain; this railroad was recognized as one of the world’s greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. After getting off the train we will continue the trip to visit the most important archeological site of Ecuador, the Inca Ruins of Ingapirca. Return to Cuenca.
We start our tour out of the northwestern side of the city of Cuenca with a visit to San Bartolome, a little town next to the Andes mountain range, with an amazing view of the valley of River Santa Bárbara. This town is famous for its crafty artisans in making guitars. We will visit a traditional shop to observe the process of making this musical instrument.
We continue to Chordeleg a town known around the country for its ceramic, gold and silver jewelry and above all for their fine filigree work made of gold and silver threads. Here we will be able to go shopping and the artisans will show us the way they elaborate the jewelry. There we can then take a walk around its central plaza where we will observe countless crafts and shops.
Later, we will continue to Gualaceo to visit 2 important markets that are known for their variety of products and the colorful scenery. Then we’ll stop for lunch (not included), after visit a textile shop where we’ll observe the back strap loom and the horizontal loom weaving and how a variety of products are made, they will also show us the Hispanic technique of “Ikat” to make shawls and ponchos. Then return to Cuenca
Cajas is a national park located on the northwester side of the city of Cuenca; it’s formed by wetland from glacial origins with more than 200 lakes. Our visit will start on the lower part of the park called the area “Llaviuco” only 30 minutes away from the city of Cuenca. We will hike at an easy rate for one hour at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level (9,842ft).
We will continue our visit until we get to a point called “tres cruces” which forms the Continental divide between the Pacific and the Atlantic ocean at an altitude of 4,135m (13,566ft), we will have a short walk to observe this interesting area, then we will descend and will perform our main hike at an altitude of 3,900m (12,795ft) for approximately three hours. The difficulty at this point is moderate. On the trail we will visit a beautiful primary forest and will observe the interesting vegetation. Return to Cuenca.