Cayambe - Pichincha - Ecuador

Its main attraction is the volcano of the same name, which is located 5,790 meters above sea level. His parties in the month of June make it a place full of folklore. In gastronomy stand out the famous biscuits and the cheese of leaf. It is located 82 kilometers northeast of Quito. It is an interesting destination for those who wish to taste delicious dishes, enjoy popular festivals or be seduced by beautiful landscapes. June 29 is the main day of the Cayambeña party. Large groups of dancers sing graceful and picturesque songs. Among the characters of the party are the devil-huma, the chinuca, the clown and the taquidor.

Among its main attractions, besides the Cayambe volcano, are: the monument to the Middle of the World, located in the community of San Luis de Guachalá, Cangahua parish, has a historical-scientific value, since the French geodesics arrived at this place in June of 1736, and the results of its investigations, were recorded in a great stone slab, that at the moment rests in the astronomical observatory of Quito. The San Marcos lagoon is part of the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve, and is the perfect place for excursions, horseback riding, camping, mountain biking, and hiking and camping.

Flora of the Cayambe Canton

Among the characteristic flora of the páramos is: taruga cachu, chicory, chuquiragua, romerillo, lycopodium, achupalla and quinoa. They stand out iguilán, xerotillo, fern, cauchillo, chilca, bomarea, quishuar, chilco, moral, mortiño, horsetail, horsetail, yurac, shaman and valerian.

Wildlife of the Cayambe Canton

The fauna reserve that exists in this area is from the Cayambe-Coca Reserve, to which the Laguna de San Marcos belongs, are vultures, hawks, bandurrias, torrenteros ducks, owls and hummingbirds. In the place the existence of spectacled bears, deer, dwarfish deer, wolves of páramo, skunks, pumas, rabbits, bats and chucuris is reported.

Economic development of the Cayambe Canton

The Cayambe canton is an agricultural producer of flowers, onions, grains and potatoes. In addition, different dairy products and meats are produced. At the culinary level they are famous for the biscuits, made of wheat flour, which are served with hot chocolate and leaf cheese.

Popular Celebrations of Cayambe

Inti Raymi - June 21. - The Inti Raymi or solstice change is done throughout the Andean alley and throughout the indigenous world of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

The Octaves - June 30.

Las Oyanzas - September 21.

Main celebrations of Cayambe: June 29. - Beautiful couplets are made in the central park, they continue with the tradition "take the square", with dances going to the Sacred Temple of Puntiatzil, where the Ñustas del Sol is selected. The couplets are the fundamental ingredient of the popular celebration where lives the religious syncretism at every moment, some characters of the parties are: the diabluma, the chinuca, the aruchico, the clown, the taquidor.

Typical Foods of Cayambe

Sponge cake: They are made in wood ovens. It is said that the recipe was invented by religious orders who in search of a good bread came up with the key recipe of the sponge cake.

Uchujacu: It consists of a flour meal with several grains (beans, beans, peas), a grilled or fried guinea pig prey, a cooked egg, a potato and a mote.

Chicha: It is a ferment based on corn and aromatic herbs, this drink is in the chronicles of the time of the Spanish conquest, also as a drink part of the ritual.

Tourist Places of Cayambe

The canton Cayambe offers wonderful tourist places that will be the delight of its visitors.

Parish Olmedo in Cayambe

Olmedo for its beauty, for its welcome, for the proximity of the majestic Cayambe, for the lagoons of San Marcos and Puruhanta, for the clothing of its inhabitants for their traditions and cultures is a center of great tourist attraction.

Ascazubí Parish in Cayambe

It is small but thriving population that develops through the poultry and floriculture industry, enjoying a landscape that is part of the particular geography that surrounds it.

Cangahua Parish in Cayambe

It stands out for its millenary land in which Ecuadorian ancestors lived, becoming the most important site of our prehistory.

 Kayambi in Cayambe

The Kayambi are in the process of recovering their cultural values ​​related to indigenous spirituality and which refer to collective rights, ceremonies and rituals.

Ecological Reserve Cayambe - Coca (RECAY)

From the upper part of the Reserve, large hydrographic systems are born, such as the Napo-Marañón-Amazonas River, whose waters flow into the Atlantic Ocean and those of the Mira and Esmeraldas River whose waters flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Cayambe Volcano in Cayambe

The Cayambe is the only snow in the world that is crossed by the Equator.

San Marcos Lagoon in Cayambe

It is an extraordinary place located at 3400 meters above sea level that will soon have an interpretation and education center.

Sara Volcano - Urcu in Cayambe

It has steep slopes, deep cuts in its rocks and almost impenetrable valleys. The Sara - Urco Volcano has a height of 4,676 meters.

Mother Church in Cayambe

The church is located on the south side of the main park of Cayambe, it is in an eclectic style and preserves its original forms of colonial origin.

Monument to the Middle of the World in Cayambe

The monument has a historical value of great significance for the country and the canton, to this place the French geodesics arrived in June 1736.

Archaeological Museum of Cayambe

The Museum presents a mixture of archaeological pieces with other intangible cultural elements to which the result of the investigations carried out by the French anthropologist Dennis Farkas joins.

Cuchicama waterfall in Cayambe

It takes the name of the Cuchicama river, it is born in the skirts of the Cayambe volcano, it is used for the irrigation of the lands that are in its way.

Cariyacu River Waterfall in Cayambe

It is one of the best attractions of the Canton, has a preserved natural scenery and with an impressive beauty that manifests itself during the tour, in flora, fauna and landscape.

Hacienda Guachalá House in Cayambe

Guachalá is one of the oldest haciendas in Ecuador. With buildings dating from 1580. Each place on this farm keeps its secrets and its history.

Pucaráes de Pambamarca in Cayambe

This monumental complex of great magnitude is located at an altitude of 3782 (Quito Loma) and 4075 masl (Pambamarca). To arrive here is to return and tread a natural scenario that for centuries has remained unchanged until its discovery.

Puntiatzil Archaeological Complex in Cayambe

Puntiatzil, an architectural complex that keeps archaeological evidence and was used as an astronomical observatory of the indigenous people of the Cayambe area.

Municipal Museum of Cayambe

 It is a place that keeps archaeological pieces that belong to the Cara and Panzaleo cultures of the Integration Period.

Railroad Bridge Mills in Cayambe

The Union Between the years 1940-1960, it is proposed to install a mill in Cayambe using the force of water from the Guachala river for the mill and the plant, on the initiative of the businessman Colonel Carlos Guerrero, who after separating from the Ecuadorian Army after the war with Peru.

Mirador de Fátima in Cayambe

Viewpoint located in the parish of Ayora, founded in 1981, it is 3 km from the city of Cayambe.

Buga Forest in Cayambe

It enjoys beautiful landscapes and allows transit through the Camino del Cóndor passing through the communities of Paquiestancia and Cariacu, in the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve.

Traffic Tomb of Amaguaña Tola built as part of the infrastructure of the Intercultural Transit Center Amaguaña.

Pucara Of Quito Loma in Cayambe

The pucaráes in Ecuador are located at the top of hills and hills, and distributed throughout the Andean highlands.

Pambamarca Archaeological Complex in Cayambe

The Inca or Pucaráes military fortresses are generally located south of the deep ravines of the Guayllabamba and Pisque rivers, which must have been used as defensive cliffs and as impassable natural pits.

The Tingo in Cayambe

Spa of thermal and mineral waters, according to Data provided by older natives of the Community of San Luis de Guachalá to which it belongs legally.

Quitsato Archaeological Complex in Cayambe

The word Quitsato is from the Tsafiqui language, ethnic language of the Tsáchilas of the Ecuadorian coast, the word Quitsa means Half and To means World, therefore Quitsato means Half of the World.

Castillo de Guachalá in Cayambe

Formerly known as the Chalet. Its owner was Don Neptalí Bonifaz (president of Ecuador in 1 931), then it takes the name of Castillo de Guachalá, as it is known today.

La Casa Del Venado in Cayambe

New tourist attraction in the canton of Cayambe, where there are numerous deer of all sizes, you can also see other animals such as cattle, alpacas and native birds of the Canton.