Cosmopolitan, elegant and distinguished, Cuenca, the capital of Azuay province, appears like that every place you look, even from high in the sky. But it’s heritage buildings, its churches with their pointed steeples, its rivers, which are inseparable from the city, and its neighborhoods full of houses –all of these look like ants on the ground, the higher you fly.
More than four centuries of history have left traces of great significance in Cuenca: exceptional arquitecture and extraordinary landscapes. From the sky, 800 hundred feet high in a helicopter, one can better perceive the beauty of this city, a Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a city that grew up with the productive hard work of its inhabitants.
Never before have stopped to visit all the exceptional places of Cuenca and its urban design, typical from the Colonial period. The streets of the historic center seem custom made for active and curios minds, and lovers of the splendid Colonial and Republican beauty. From any angle, the vast Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (1882) of Gothic/Renaissance style stands in the heart of the city. This religious icon seems to be connected with the other 52 churches in the city.
Guarded by the river Tomebamba, we appreciate emblematic sites, such as El Barranco and Pumapungo, which are rooted in the Cañari-Inca history. Capitalism molded Cuenca to the perfect fusion the traditional and the modern. Its broad avenues, some with green median strips planted with trees and beds of flowers, seem like endless veins that give symmetry to each zone.
In the last decade the city has been transformed. It is not small any more; now it is larger, but still a harmonious place with ‘satellite cities’ and hospitable people. Modern buildings, concentrated in residential areas such as Avenida Ordonez Lazo, Yanuncay, the Stadium area and the shopping centers denote the momentum and growth which Cuenca has recently experienced.
The orange roofs seem like uniforms and shine with faint sunbeams at 5:00 p.m. the rocky peaks, the eucalyptus and evergreen forests and the mist characterize the nature reserve of Cajas National Park. With this landscape there is more reason to stop.
As each neighborhood or area is discovered, Cuenca seduces and captivates. Let you also be fascinated by historical sites, and surrender to the search for traces of the past and present.
To know
How to get there: From Quito to Cuenca you can travel by with interprovincial bus companies such as Panamericana, Flota Imbabura, Santa, and Viajeros, all of which can be taken from the bus terminal. The fare is 12 dollars. By plane there are daily flights on airlines such as LAN, Tame, and Aerogal