Cuenca Ecuador Colonial Tour, 4h daily, private

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Price from:
34.00 USD
per person

Cuenca´s red-tiled roofs, flowery plazas and cobblestone streets are reminiscences of a splendid past.  Visits to museums, cloisters, markets and churches are all testimonials of a rich historical legacy.  A stroll to observe the imposing blue-domed cathedral bring back the splendor of the past.

Tour Details

Cuenca is Ecuador's third largest city; yet it still retains its pleasant provincial air. Its red tiled roofs, cobblestone streets, flowery plazas and museums make it very special. This comprehensive tour includes the Plaza of San Sebastian, a colorful artisans market, where handicrafts are sold.

Then, visit the Museum of Modern Art, featuring an excellent collection of contemporary fine art. The original building was the "House of Temperance" where alcoholics were once shut inside its thick walls in an effort to cure them. A stop is made at Plaza San Francisco, where the exquisitely embroidered skirts of the cholas are for sale. Next is a visit to the flower market at the small plaza in front of the carved stone entrance to the church of El Carmen de la Asunción. From here, a stroll to the main square, surrounded by the imposing blue-domed Cathedral, the Court of Justice, the Municipal Palace, the Governor's Palace and the Church of El Sagrario. Then, a drive along the Tomebamba river to admire the city's overhanging houses and the laundry spread out to dry on its river banks and a great view of the city from the Hill of Turi.

Travel Facts

• Dress in layers (T-shirt, blouse, sweater, coat) and rain protection
• Sun protection (SPF 40) even if the day is cloudy
• Hat or cap
• Good walking shoes
• Altitude: 2,550 meters (7,750 feet)
• Average Temperature: Day 10° to 25° C / 50° to 77° F. 
• Night 6° to 10° C / 43° to 50° F.

Climate
With an altitude between 2,100 and 3,000 meters (7,000 to 10,000 feet) the weather is surprisingly comfortable all year round. The days are warm and nights cool. In the highlands the dry season extends from July through October with temperatures in the 70s F (20s C) during the day and in the 50s F (10s C) after the sun sets. During the rest of the year, you can expect showers in the afternoon.

Dress
Dressing in layers is ideal in the highlands. Dress is generally informal for travelers. Lightweight wools are recommended for day; a sweater or a warm jacket after dusk. Good walking shoes are essential.

Accommodations
The hotels, country inns and haciendas used on our tours are the best available at each location. Although rooms at haciendas may not have all the amenities, they are located on superb ground evoking a bygone age. All have private facilities and hot water.

Sunburn
Because Ecuador is located right on the equator, sun rays are direct. Fair-skinned persons should always use sun protection in the highlands, even if the weather is cloudy, and wear sunglasses. A hat or cap are highly recommended.

Health
Although most hotels and cities have perfectly suitable water, to avoid stomach problems, don't drink tap water and don't eat uncooked vegetables or fruit you cannot peel. Bottled mineral water, with or without carbonation, is available at all hotels/haciendas.
Travelers with heart conditions or high blood pressure should check with their doctor about high-altitude travel.

Some special Highlights

PLAZA AND CHURCH OF SAN SEBASTIAN
The Plaza of San Sebastian was built in the 17th Century as an open marketplace for the western part of the city of Cuenca. On its side is the church of San Sebastian, with a magnificent carved door. 
     
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (THE HOUSE OF TEMPERANCE)
On the southern side of Plaza San Sebastian is the Museum of Modern Art, which occupies a building of the 17th Century, called the House of Temperance, begun in 1876 to house persons with drinking problems.  It became a museum in 1981 and its thick walls and long white corridors built around flowery courtyards are an excellent setup for colorful modern paintings and sculptures. 
     
THE CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Located on one side of Plaza Calderón, this is the most important religious monument in the city of Cuenca, and one of the biggest architectural works in the country. Its construction started in 1880 and it was finished in 1974. The cathedral, which is also called the "New Cathedral", has imposing blue tiled domes and two towers in the facade. The decoration inside is also impressive, mainly because of its beautiful stained-glass windows, the gold leaf  altar piece and the huge pillars covered with pink marble.  Three styles are found in the architecture of the Cathedral: Roman, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance.  Austere, the Romanic elements are found in the main body, an enormous mass of walls and vaults; the Gothic is seen in the high steeples and the stained glass windows in the front and lateral walls; the Baroque is what most attracts attention, in the canopy of the main altar, an imitation of that of Saint Peter's in Rome, enriched with a multiplicity of additional adornments.  The roof of the Cathedral is in Renaissance style, a series of six blue cupolas of different heights. 
 
THE TOMEBAMBA RIVER RAVINE (EL BARRANCO)
This is one of the most charming places in Cuenca, along a ravine formed by the erosive action of the river. The flat terrain on which the colonial center of Cuenca is located, abruptly ends and descends to the Tomebamba River in a vertical drop. The cheerful noise of the water and the picturesque hanging style houses which stretch down the green slopes along the Tomebamba river, surprise the visitors with a peculiar combination of nature and architecture. Women still do their washing in the river and spread out the clothes to dry in the banks, in very colorful patterns.

Information Price per Person (USD) 1 person 102.00 26 or more 18.00 16 - 25 20.00 10 - 15 22.00 4 - 9 34.00 3 persons 39.00 2 persons 55.00

Cuenca Ecuador Tours & Hotels

With the placid atmosphere of a small city, Cuenca fascinates its visitors
Ecuador's most beautiful city, Saint Anne of the Four Rivers of Cuenca, is located in the valley of Guapondelig (meaning “plain as wide as the sky”). At an altitude of 2,550 meters (7,650 feet) above sea level, Cuenca enjoys a mild climate and a fabulous geographic position. Surrounding the city of Cuenca are hills like Cullca to the north and Turi to the south, which are great lookout points. Cuenca has the placid atmosphere of a small city, both deeply religious and artistic, which fascinates the visitor. The beauty of its landscape combined with the harmony between old and modern architecture, has prompted, UNESCO to name Ecuador's third largest city, Cuenca, a World Cultural Heritage Site.

Houses stretch down the slopes along the Tomebamba, one of the four rivers that cross Cuenca, whose banks are covered with multicolored laundry under the riverside willows and linden trees. Both the Hispanic colonial downtown and the new homes in the residential neighborhoods, show how Cuenca keeps traditions of bygone eras close to its heart, but accepts the presence of modernity that abound in the city: new hotels, banks, art galleries and shops. Cuenca's cobblestone streets, graceful balconies, blossoming gardens and religious art treasures invite you to visit it, on foot and at a leisurely pace.

Cuenca's handicrafts are outstanding in variety, color and quality. These treasures, inspired by local imagination are created in straw, horn, cloth, embroidery, knit, clay, wrought iron, leather as well as gold and silver jewelry.

The region of Cuenca was already inhabited nine thousand years ago. The Cañari people settled here due to its favorable climate, abundant water and ideal land for cultivation. Extraordinary pieces of ceramic of this period, notable for their design and technique, are to be found in the museums. In the middle of the 15th century, the Incas came to this area and founded the city they called Tomebamba and a few years later, in 1557, the Spanish claimed the city and renamed it Cuenca.

Additional excursions surrounding Cuenca include the impressive Cajas lake district, the subtropical valleys of Paute, Gualaceo and Yunguilla, plus the legendary Inca ruins of Ingapirca.