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Cuenca Best Tour Option: 3-Day Exploration of Ecuadorian Highlands' Landscape, Culture, & History

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This tour is specially designed for those who want to enjoy the wonderful landscapes, culture and history of the Ecuadorian highlands.

Duration: 3 days

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

Cuenca + Artisan Villages

Museo Catedral Vieja - 08: 30 AM, The guide will pick you up to visit the highlight of the city such as The Barranco, also you´ll a stop in the Puente Roto, other important places to visit on this tour are Pumapungo Archaeological Park and finally Quinta de Bolivar important historic house. Then you´ll visit Gualaceo and its local markets, have a few minutes to know its small historic center area, finally visit the workshop of makanas (Shawls), Other important place to visit is Chordeleg Town, known for its silver and gold jewelry.

Optional: Biking Cuenca City Tour (please ask for this in advance).

5:00 PM – Return to Cuenca.

Cojitambo Cañari Ruins & Ingapirca Complex

Ingapirca Ruins - 8:00 AM The guide will pick you up from your hotel to visit the Cojitambo archaeological complex where you will learn about the architectural techniques of the Cañaris, this is one of the best natural viewpoints to enjoy the city of Azogues, capital of the province of Cañar. Also you´ll visit Ingapirca is the most important Archaeological Complex in Ecuador, here the tour guide will explain about the Cañari and Incan cultures and you will see the unique Elliptical Temple which was in the Tahuantinsuyo.

Cajas National Park + Baños (Cuenca)

El Cajas National Park - 08:00 AM - The guide will pick you up from the hotel, you´ll go until Cajas National Park, during this tour you’ll visit two altitude levels within the park. In the middle part (3,960 meters), you will walk around the 2½ hours in the Toreadora area. The trek will give you the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful sceneries. Visiting Llaviuco (3150 meters), located in the lower part of the park, this area is part of a different ecosystem known as montage primary forest. Here you’ll walk around the lake for about ½ hour.

Then you´ll have a lunch and go to Baños de Cuenca to enjoying and relaxing in the hot spring, sauna and turkish bath. (Extra fee - Massages Session)

5:00 PM - Return to Cuenca or ends with a transfer to Guayaquil City (Consult extra charges for this extension).

What's Included

Bilingual guide
Lunch
Private transportation

What's Not Included

Entrance fee to Ingapirca Complex
Drinks
Tips

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

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Bas_olga

Aug 28, 2021

Birds, culture, and food in Cuenca - Our family of four adults booked a two-way transfer from Guayaquil to Cuenca and several tours in Cuenca with Polylepis. We had originally booked for May 2020, but had to postpone until June 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Edison was our guide for the entire stay on Ecuador mainland. He was very knowledgeable and made sure we tried the local foods. One of our favorites was a road-side restaurant with giant homey meals right before the ascent into the mountains begins. Edison is an avid birder and he was pointing out birds before we even made it out of the Guayaquil city limits. We had an issue with the apartment we had booked and could not reach the owner and Edison took us to a hotel in the center and set us up with a giant room. We were so exhausted that this help was highly appreciated. The next day, Edison took us around Cuenca and showed us the center,the Homero Ortega hat factory (great for buying Panama hats), the park Paraiso (more bird watching), local snacks in a local cafe, a local art gallery, all the best views of the New Cathedral and short walk inside the New Cathedral. We had a day to ourselves and then Edison picked us up to take us to Saraguro and the local communities that live there. We were joined by Jaunita, one of the elders and representatives of the community. She shared a cleansing ceremony by a waterfall and we had an amazing home-cooked meal in a family home. We did the 1,000 bird tour on the way back to Guayaquil and did two walks at altitude in the Cajas National Park. It was fascinating to see the various birds that could not be found anywhere else along with some familiar favorites. Thank you, Edison and Polylepis for sharing your knowledge and love of Cuenca and Ecuador!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

From $230

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up to 15 guests

1 Adult