CUENCA: HISTORY, CULTURE & HANDICRAFTS
Tour: 3 days / 2 nights

Be mesmerized by the third more important city of Ecuador, Unesco’s World Heritage Site, well known for its architecture, its cultural diversity, and full of art and history: Cuenca.

Day 1: Cuenca – Chordeleg – Cuenca

• Early in the morning we begin the tour to visit a workshop of toquilla straw hat commonly known as “Panama” Hat in the village of Sigsig and see how the hats are made.
• There you can purchase not only the hats, but also beautiful crafts like purses, toys, clothes, pottery items, wood products, musical instruments like guitars, charangos, and food products like jelly and the delicious cheeses.
• Then we will visit the village of Chordeleg famous for silver and gold jewelry.
• After this, we drive to Gualaceo that is a typical Andean village with nice cobblestone streets and a pretty plaza.
• Lunch.
• After lunch, we return to Cuenca.
• Accommodation.
• Meals included: lunch

Day 2: Cuenca – Ingapirca Ruins – Cuenca

• After breakfast, we will drive to the Archeological Site of Ingapirca, which is the most important vestige in Ecuador.
• This archeological site was built in the fifteenth century on a former Cañari burial site along the Incan royal road that connected Quito to Cuzco.
• The Solar Temple and the surrounding buildings follow the system of construction found in the ancient Incan capital.
• We visit the site museum.
• Lunch and return to the hotel in Cuenca.
• Meals included: breakfast, lunch

Day 3: Cuenca – Cajas National Park - Cuenca

• After breakfast, we depart to El Cajas National Park, a fantastic high Andean natural sanctuary and retreat, known for at least 200 glacial moorland lakes and glacial outcrops that form a unique scenario.
• This breathtaking national park, rich in flora, is home of many animals that are endemic or highly endangered.
• There can be found the Condor, the curiquinga (a large black and white raptor), the giant hummingbird, pumas, foxes, rabbits, among others.
• We will have the chance to do some hiking, birdwatching, and the most important, learn more about the natural history of this amazing National Park.
• After a deserved lunch, we make a panoramic city tour in Cuenca, crossing through its cobblestones streets, winding rivers, graceful ironwork balconies, beautiful gardens, churches, convents and religious treasures of this historical city that was declared by the UNESCO “World Cultural Heritage Site” in 1999.
• At night we will have a farewell delicious dinner at a beautiful restaurant.  Return to the hotel in Cuenca.  End of the tour.
• Meals included:  breakfast, lunch and dinner