Canar
Population: 217,020. Named for the Cañari Indians, who resisted Inca dominance for centuries, this province features Ecuador=s premier archaelogical site, the Inca ruins of Ingapirca. Azogues is the capital, and the city of Cañar is an important site of surviving indigenous culture.
Bus access: Any south-bound bus to Cuenca will drop you in Cañar or Azogues.
Information given for:
Azogues
Biblián
Cañar
Ingapirca
Inca trail to Ingapirca
Population: 33,321. Located 31 km north of Cuenca, this provincial capital is one of the centers of the Panama Hat industry. Hats are rarely for sale (buy in Cuenca), but the sombrerías are happy to show you their trade.
Hotel Charles
241-364
Solano y Rivera
$4 per person
Chicago
241-040
3 de Noviembre y 24 de Mayo
$5 single( tv cable)
Restaurant service available.
An impressive neo-Gothic sanctuary built onto a cliff-face overlooks this town just north of Azogues on the Pan-American highway and makes it worth a visit. Good views of the surrounding area can be had from the top of the hill.
This high, cold, but pleasant colonial town is the region's most important locus of indingenous culture. You can find back-strap weavers at the jail (Centro de Rehabitación Social) and local hats in shops.
Hostal Ingapirca
Sucre y 5 de Junio
(in front of the park)
Inti Hausi Residencial
Clean, hot showers, restaurant
Residencial Cañar
Small, friendly.
Residencial Mónica
235-486
On main plaza
$3.5 with private bathroom
Clean, often full. Tour service to Ingapirca available.
Ecuador’s most important Inca ruin, this site east of Cañar deserves a visit of several hours. The US$5 entrance fee includes the museum. Besides the partially re-constructed stonework, there are some interesting rock formations nearby, including the Cara del Inca (Inca face), which looks like what its name suggests. Pottery fragments can be found in the dirt alongside the walking trails.
There are direct buses to the site from Cuenca (9am and 1pm) and Cañar (6am).
Posada Ingapirca
831-120, 290-670
500 meters from the site
$35 (+22%) single
$40 (+22%) double
$20 (+22%) additional bed
Prices include breakfast. Very nice, good food. Prices until July 2002.