Luxury Travel to Cuenca, Ecuador

Cuenca, Ecuador is a South American gem.  It is even the third-largest city in Ecuador, but it doesn’t feel like it. Life moves at a slower pace here and the city has a quaint, almost village-esque feel. Pretty colonial trappings, such as wrought-iron balconies, overflowing flower boxes, balustrades, red-tiled roofs and cobblestone streets, impart it with a pleasant, old-fashioned ambiance.

Come here during your custom Ecuador tour and the first thing you’ll likely notice is the spire-filled skyline. Cuenca has 52 churches, one for every Sunday of the year. If you only have time to see one during your private Ecuador holiday, make it La Inmaculada, a huge brick-and-stone cathedral best known for its emblematic blue domes.

Cuenca also has a reputation for its arts and crafts, and indeed, many of the handicrafts you see being hawked in Quito’s and Guayaquil’s markets will have been made here. At Cuenca’s main market, on Plaza de San Francisco, stalls are piled high with various types of clothing, weavings, baskets, ceramics and trinkets.

For some fresh Andean air, head an hour outside town to the Cajas National Park, which stretches across a patchwork of rugged highland landscapes including cloud forests, rocky lunar terrain, jagged peaks and more than 200 lakes.