Cuenca Travel Guide - Ecuador Magnificent Experience
Cuenca Travel Guide - Ecuador Magnificent Experience
Cuenca is a vibrant colonial city in southern Ecuador, and the capital of Azuay Province. Cuenca lies in a valley at about 2,500m (8,200 ft), and is home to around 450,000 people. Its moderate climate makes it enjoyable year round.
After Quito, Cuenca is Ecuador’s most important and beautiful colonial city. But don’t say that to the locals, who insist that their laid-back culture, cleaner streets and more agreeable weather outclass the capital, hands down.
Dating from the 16th century, Cuenca’s historic center, a Unesco World Heritage Site with its trademark skyline of massive rotundas and soaring steeples, is a place time keeps forgetting: nuns march along cobblestone streets, kids in Catholic-school uniforms skip past historic churches, and old ladies spy on promenading lovers from their geranium-filled balconies. The city is the center of many craft traditions, including ceramics, metalwork and the internationally famous panama hat – and the nearby villages offer many more handicrafts besides.
Central Cuenca is easily walkable, and it is often faster than taking a cab through the narrow traffic-jammed lanes. Cabs are readily available and charge $2-3 ($1 more at night) per trip. All yellow taxis are required to use taxi-meters. City buses are also fairly easy to figure out. Most bus stops are marked. The cost is $0.30 per ride. Since April 2018 the only way to pay the fare is with the 'movilízate' card, which costs $1.75. You need to charge it before entering the bus. Cuenca is a very bike-friendly city.
Cuenca is a city known for its textile making, along with furniture and other crafts like hats and shoes. They also export many flowers to places such as the United States and countries in Europe. The hats that they are well known for making are straw hats. The tourism industry is big as well in addition with the main university there, “La Universidad de Cuenca”. Cuenca has many cathedrals there that are a part of the sightseeing as well as other national parks.
Buy some flowers at the flower market on Calle Sucre across from the new cathedral. Continue on about a block from there to get to the clothing and artisan market where one can also find knit crafts from Otavalo. Lovely handmade ruanas, sweaters, hats, mittens, and finger puppets are also available here.
Cuenca Canton contains the following parishes:
Baños
Chaucha
Checa (Jidcay)
Chiquintad
Cumbe
Llacao
Molleturo
Nulti
Octavio Cordero Palacios (Santa Rosa)
Paccha
Quingeo
Ricaurte
San Joaquín
Santa Ana
Sayausi
Sidcay
Sinincay
Tarqui
Turi
Valle
Victoria del Portete (Irquis)
Most tourists visit the historic area, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, between the river Tomebamba and the street Gran Colombia to the north, General Torres to the west, and Hermano Miguel to the east. This area's compactness, grid-like layout, and numerous readily identifiable monuments make it easy to navigate. Outside this area the city can be confusing, as there are dozens of narrow colonial streets with similar buildings.
Major fiestas of Cuenca come at the time of the Mass of Children that is carried out the day of the Arrival of Kings (January 6 - Epiphany Day), or in the commemoration of the independence of the city (November 3), during which processions, cultural acts and dances are organized. The nearby Cañar plantation (in the county of the same name) features the biggest Inca ruins in Ecuador.
A lot to see in Cuenca such as :
New Cathedral of Cuenca
El Cajas National Park
Old Cathedral of Cuenca
Avenida Mirador de Turi
Museo Pumapungo
Calderón Park
Amaru Zoológico Bioparque
Inca Ruins
Museo de las Madres Conceptas
Puente Roto
Pumapungo
Museo Remigio Crespo Toral
Homero Ortega Hats
Mercado 10 de Agosto
El Paraíso Park
Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno
Las Conceptas
Ruinas de Pumapungo
Prohibido Centro Cultural
Museo de las Culturas Aborigenes
Santo Domingo
Eduardo Vega Galeria/Taller
San Blas Church
Iglesia del Carmen de la Asuncion
Estancia Rosario
De Todos Los Santos
Plaza de las Flores
Church of Turi
Parque Arqueológico Pumapungo
CIDAP
San Blas Park
El Museo de Esqueletologia
Iglesia de San Alfonso
Thermal SPA Novaqua Hostería Durán
San Sebastian Park
Economuseo Municipal Casa del Sombrero
Cuenca Canopy
Fundación Bienal de Cuenca
El Columpio De Turi
Cupulas
Miraflores Park
Iglesia de Todos Santos
Orquideario
Plaza de San Francisco
Cruz Del Vado
Ruinas de Todos Santos
( Cuenca - Ecuador ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Cuenca . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Cuenca - Ecuador
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