CUENCA
The third largest city in Ecuador, Cuenca is charming with its cobbled streets, four rivers, huge cathedrals and colonial parks. It comes alive by by night with plentiful up market bars and restaurants serving excellent traditional and international food and all with a reasonable price tag.
​
​
getting there
​
From Puerto López and Guayaquil | You can get a bus to Guayaquil and then a bus to Cuenca. From Guayaquil the buses are very frequent leaving roughly every half an hour with plenty of companies to chose from. Try to find one that heads through Cajas National park as this is the more scenic and normally the shorter route. The journey takes around five hours and costs around $9 (£7.30).
​
​
​
To Stay
​
If you stay anywhere within the historical centre you won’t be too far from anything. There are a lot of options to choose from depending on your budget. Accommodation in Ecuador is more expensive than its closest South American neighbours.
​
Hostel Yakumama | We stayed at Hostel Yakumama and for £22 a night through Booking.com with a shared bathroom though no breakfast it was the best budget option we could find. When we went to add on 3 extra nights it dropped to £16 a night so may be worth booking directly. The Hostel itself was lovely with an on-site bistro restaurant, serving excellent food and live music. The buildings design echos any noise up though its centre so we found it difficult to sleep sometimes.
​
Top Tip: Stay on a Wednesday for open mic. Get there early as it will be packed out.
​
​
​
​
To do
​
Hike Cajas National Park | Take a trip to Cajas National park and you will think you’re in Scotland. It’s brown and green and blue all at once. At its lowest point of 10,400 ft, it's significantly cooler than the city. Find a bus that’s heading to Guayaquil from the Terminal Terrestre and ask if they’re heading past the National park. The bus we hopped on was Ejecutive San Luis and we paid $3 (£2.50) departing at around 8:15am. Go early as they only allow 92 visitors per day. Once you’re there go and register your details with the ranger (a picture of your passport is fine) and she will go through the map and advise the best route for you to take.
​
We took route one and detoured a little around the first lake for a longer hike, it was about three miles up and down, around lakes and through a cool forested area, it was beautiful. The altitude does affect you here though so be careful and take your time and drink plenty of water. There’s a small cafe and toilets at the Ranger station and for the way back just flag any bus that’s coming past. It’s free to get into the park, easy to navigate, simple to get there and back so definitely worth a visit.
​
Visit Pumapungo Museum | Pumapungo Museum is about a fifteen minute walk from Yakumama and it’s a great museum to pass a couple of hours looking at the artefacts, clothing and currency but the best part is outside where the Inca ruins are. Huge Inca kilns sit within beautifully restored Inca botanical garden and recreated permaculture small holding. It's a peaceful walk until you hear the macaws squawking in the refugee bird sanctuary. We felt sorry for them because some of the cages looked small for the eagles and hawks there but they are all well looked after. Each comes with an explanation and their level of endangerment in the wild. The museum and gardens are free to enter.
​
​
To Eat & Drink
​
Hornado | Go to Mercado 10 de Agosto and head to the market's mezzanine and see the ladies for some roasted pork, corn and potatoes. They'll carve it right from the pig. Portions are small so ask for the grande option. The first stall on the left is supposedly the best in the region and you can get $3, $4 or $5 dollar portions. It's tasty and the cheapest food in town.
​
Morlacos Tacos | Try Canelazo and tacos by the river. Morlacos Tacos when we just wanted a light dinner and we are very glad we did. There are three different prices depending on the tacos 2 x $1.25 2 x $1.50 and 2 x $1.75. They are small but tasty and our light dinner ended at ten tacos. Another thing to try is Canelazo, it’s on most menus in Ecuador and it feels very Christmassy so it’s a lovely evening drink when it’s a bit cooler. It’s hot and alcoholic, made with boiled water, cinnamon, sugar and Aguardiente. Super sweet and quite thick so you won’t drink many but it’s delicious and cheap at around $1.50 (£1.20) a mug in a restaurant but much less on the street.
NEXT STOP
The activity town of Banos is surrounded by beautiful mountains, jungle, and waterfalls. It's not just for adrenaline junkies. There's thermal baths, and SPA's for those wanting to relax. The full name is Banos de Agua Santa not to be mistaken for the town of Banos near Cuenca...