Cuenca, capital of the province of Azuay, is located in the sierra of the Andes in the Austro or southern region of Ecuador. It is approximately nine hours south of Quito and four hours east of Guayaquil. The city ranges from 2,350 to 2,550 meters above sea level. The dominant features of the city's geography are also the source of its name: the four rivers of Cuenca. These rivers are the Tomebamba, Yanuncay, Tarqui and Machangara, in order of importance. The first three of these rivers originate in the Páramo of Parque Nacional Cajas to the west of the city. These four rivers are part of the Amazon river watershed. Cuenca (meaning a basin caused by a confluence of rivers) is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with passes to the west, south and east.

Climate

Like the rest of the Ecuadorian Andes, Cuenca enjoys a mild climate year-round. Days are generally warm and nights are cool enough that sweaters or jackets are needed. The average daily temperature is 14.6 degrees Celsius. There are two seasons: rainy and dry. The dry season, with some variation, falls between June and December. The rainy season, which is characterized by bright sunny mornings and afternoon showers, falls between January and May. The heaviest rains come in the invierno of March, April and May.

Old cathedral

It was built in 1557, but soon was too small for the faithful of the town. In 1880, they decided to build a temple to replace it. At the present time, the old cathedral is in process of restoration. It is no longer consecrated and is operated as a museum.

New cathedral

Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción)
Its towers are truncated due to a calculation error of the architect. If they had been raised to their planned height, the foundation of this church to the Immaculate Concepcion, would not have been able to bear the weight. In spite of the architect's immense mistake, the New Cathedral of Cuenca is a monumental work of faith that began to be built in 1880. It is in Neo-Gothic style, and its blue and white domes have become a symbol for the city. Its facade is made of alabaster and local marble, while the floor is covered with pink marble, brought from Carrara (Italy).When the Cathedral was first constructed 9,000 out of Cuenca's 10,000 inhabitants could fit.

Park Abdon Calderon

It is in the center of Cuenca between the old and new cathedrals. On the park benches, people meet to converse and absorb its tranquility. The municipal offices are located nearby.

Monastery of El Carmen de Asuncion.-
In the atrium a colorful flower market supplements the beauty of the church which was founded in 1682. A sculpted stone facade and a golden pulpit make the church very attractive.

Monastery and Museum of La Concepcion

Tombs of the XVII century and a complete collection of religious art are part of this exhibition.

-House of the Ecuadorian Culture
-Municipal Museum Remigio Crespo Toral
-Museum of the Central Bank
-Museum of the Aboriginal Cultures
-Church of Santo Domingo
-San Blas.
-Ruinas de todos los santos

Ingapirca Ruins

Is a town in Cañar Province, Ecuador and the name of an Incan ruin site just outside the town itself.
IngapircaThe ruins are the largest Incan ruins in Ecuador. The most significant building is the temple of the sun, an elliptical shaped building constructed around a large rock. The building is constructed in the Incan way without mortar. The stones were simply chiseled and fashioned to fit together perfectly. The temple of the sun was positioned so that on the solstices, at exactly the right time of day, sunlight would fall through the center of the doorway of the small chamber at the top of the temple. Most of this chamber has fallen down.

The Incans were not the first inhabitants to Ingapirca. After the King of the Incans died in Peru the oldest son took over the kingdom. The younger brother decided to find a place and kingdom of his own. He took his family and his followers and went down the mountains to the coast of Peru and followed the coastline north to Ecuador. He found his way back up the Andes to Ingapirca which was already inhabited. After much fighting and killing the two groups decided to settle their differences and live together peacefully but they still kept most of their individual customs separate. Even though the Incans were more numerous, they did not demand that the other group give up their autonomy.

Eventually they merged into one group. On his trip from Macchu Picchu to Ingapirca the younger son developed a taste for fresh fish from the coastal towns that he passed through. He liked it so much that he had relay runners bring him fresh fish on a daily basis from the coast. They also had a very developed underground aqueduct system. This system provided water to the entire compound. They also had celebrations for everything. Gallons of a local fermented drink were used in these festivals. As sun and moon worshippers they tried to be as close to their gods as possible. The weather changes there are usually within minutes of each other, calm and sunny one minute and within fifteen minutes rainy, windy and cold. This extreme climate changing is year round. They felt strongly that this was the place that the gods led them to be, regardless of the climate.

To visit Ingapirca travelers can either take a day tour up from the city of Cuenca.