The Puertas de La Ciudad (Gates of the City) serve as a welcoming entrance to Loja city’s colonial architecture, narrow lanes and brightly painted houses. The myriad lights of this area make for an excellent evening stroll down quaint streets such as Lourdes Street.

The Plaza of El Valle with its colonial church and numerous restaurants serving typical Lojano meals is a tourist hotspot. The University Park’s hiking trails and walks through the River Malacatos and the River Zamora pathways offer exciting peeks into Loja’s landscape and its people’s traditional way of life. Every year on September 8, the religious festival of Virgen del Cisne is celebrated along with huge parades and a culminating produce fair.

The Podocarpus National Park, the tourist haven of Vilcabamba and the old-fashioned town of Zamora, which houses the world’s largest clock, are popular tourist destinations in the surrounding Loja province.

Cuenca is surrounded by four rivers and several monasteries. The most famous of these, El Sagrario (the old Cathedral), was built on former Inca foundations. It...

The city celebrates 24 July (Simón Bolivar’s birthday) and 25 July (the Foundation of Guayaquil) with a lively car...