The Prettiest City in Ecuador? That'll be Cuenca
Take it easy in Cuenca
Well, it's another of Ecuador's World Heritage Sites: and this one's a peach! Quito's lovely and Guayaquil's lively but Cuenca might just be the best of the bunch.
Cuenca has all the ingredients that go to make up that pace of life we're all looking for: take one nice mild climate, add some quiet cobbled streets and a cup of picture-perfect little squares, then fold in a clear, fast-flowing river, fold in some gorgeous countryside, add a pinch of fine cuisine and nightlife, season with history and culture to taste... et voila!
Culture and history
Cuenca goes back a long way. The first archaeological remains in the area date back to about 2000BC, and the early settlements developed into one of the leading tribal confederations of the pre-Inca era, the Cañari nation. Obviously the Incas were having no truck with that and, although it took them a while, they eventually conquered them in around 1470AD. Unfortunately for the Incas, they'd more or less just finished establishing themselves when the Spanish turned up and promptly pinched their empire...
All this has left an incredible cultural and historical legacy in the area, and Cuenca to this day is regarded as possibly the cultural centre of Ecuador. As well as the fascinating colonial architecture, Cuenca is home to some of the county's best museums and art galleries - including Ecuador's premier modern art collection. This is an example of the way that Cuenca continues to act as a cultural counterweight to Quito, as the inhabitants are quick to remind you!
Ingapirca
One of the major examples of Cuenca's long history is the Ingapirca site to the south-east of the city. It's the most example of an Inca settlement in the whole of Ecuador and is the only Inca site to really compare to those in Peru. The site consists of a series of terraces (opinions differ as to whether they were agricultural or ceremonial in nature) with a large Temple of the Sun in the middle. This was a high-status site, and all the construction is in the formal Inca style of irregularly-shaped blocks fitted together with no mortar in such a way that no gap is visible between the blocks at all.
The Ingapirca site is easily visited as a day-trip from Cuenca and really is a must for anyone with an interest in the Incas and their time in Ecuador.
Las Cajas National Park
The other big attraction in the area, at least for those of you who like getting out and about, is the Las Cajas National park. Situated 30km to the west of Cuenca, it is a protected area of sub-Alpine forest which in practical terms means mountains and lakes: lots of lakes. It's a real haven for birdlife, with around 125 species making their home within the national park, including Andean condors and gulls.
There is some great trekking to be done in Las Cajas, and it's varying altitude between 2,500 and 4,000m makes it a good staging ground for people preparing for the higher mountains further north.
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