Guide to Cuenca, Ecuador, Cuenca, Ecuador

Cuenca was our second favourite city of all the ones we visited in South America, and in total, we only spent 21 days there (compared to 41 days in Buenos Aires and 43 in Lima), which felt about right for us.

As the third largest city in Ecuador (Guayaquil and Quito come in first and second, respectively), it’s not full of big name sights or monuments to tick off a list, but is large enough to have a lively buzz.

The central square of Cuenca is notable for its gorgeous cathedral, which took almost 100 years to be finally completed in 1975. It is the blue domes on top of this cathedral which are the icon of Cuenca you’ll see everywhere, and views from the plaza are quite striking.

One of the things we appreciated most about Cuenca was its many open, green, pedestrian-only spaces, and probably our favourite, and most frequented one, was the walk way (Avenida Tres de Noviembre) along the north side of the river Tomebamba, the river that flows through the centre of Cuenca. Taking a walk along the river between the university (in the west) and the Central Bank (in the east) affords some great views of the city’s colonial architecture, most notably the Barranco (meaning canyon or ravine) with old buildings built out over the hillside facing the river. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).