12 Best Sights in Cuenca and the Southern Highlands, Ecuador

Cuenca's wealthy Ordóñez family donated its spacious home to the Catholic Church in 1599, whereupon it became the cloistered convent of the Order of the Immaculate Conception, or the Conceptas. Four centuries later, part of this well-preserved edifice houses the Museum of the Monastery of the Conception, which contains an impressive collection of religious art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. This is a must-see stop for an understanding of colonial art, all of which focused on religion, and none of which was ever signed by the artist. (Most pieces here are labeled "anónimo".) The well-informed guides—take a tour conducted in Spanish, English, or French—explain that service to God was deemed more important than any artistic recognition. (That didn't stop some artists from incorporating their own faces in their works.) Most of the collection was contributed by families whose daughters entered the convent. Half the building is still inaccessible, the cloistered nuns emerging only after closing to clean the museum. No one except the museum director has face-to-face contact with them.

The ornate carvings surrounding the doorway of this diminutive chapel are a good example of Spanish baroque design. The interior is typically ostentatious—especially noteworthy is the gilded pulpit encrusted with tiny mirrors. Alas, the church keeps very irregular hours and may not be open when you pass by.

Started in 1886 and finished more than 80 years later, the city's immense Romanesque cathedral can hold more than 9,000 worshippers. (Locals refer to the building as the Catedral Nueva (new cathedral); it replaced the Sagrario across the plaza as the seat of the archdiocese of Cuenca.) The interior arches tower more than 100 feet high, and light that enters through the stained-glass windows casts a golden glow over the thick brick walls and Italian marble floors. The impressive pillars are Ecuadoran marble, and the choir chairs are hand-carved from native wood.

Also called El Sagrario, this lovely church, the "Old Cathedral," was begun in 1557, the year the city was founded, and served as the headquarters of its archdiocese until a new cathedral on the opposite side of the park was completed in the 1960s. The whitewashed outside gleams after a complete restoration; the inside serves as a museum of religious art.

Built in the 1920s, the Church of St. Francis is famous for its soaring steeple and intricately carved, gold-drenched main altar, which contrasts nicely with its unassuming interior. The church keeps very limited hours.

Long before the Inca invaded the region, in the latter half of the 15th century, the fierce and industrious Cañari people ruled Guapdondélig (Plain as Wide and Beautiful as the Sky), the name they gave the fertile highlands surrounding Cuenca. They built some stunning monuments, including the ancient city of Ingapirca.

An important religious and political center for the Cañari, Ingapirca is perhaps better remembered for what the Inca built here after Tupac-Yupanqui conquered the Cañari. The king left behind quite a legacy, including the name, which means "Wall of the Inca." The smaller stone structures, built completely without mortar, are thought to be Cañari temples to the moon, but the massive elliptical structure at the center is an acknowledged temple to the sun built by the Inca. La Cara del Inca, a natural rock formation said to resemble the face of an Inca chief, is a 10-minute hike.

There is a small museum at the entrance, built under the auspices of the Banco Central, which houses artifacts found at the ruins. The cozy restaurant on the hill overlooking the site serves excellent soups and local dishes in front of a fireplace. Getting to the ruins is half the fun. Buses costing less than $2 depart from Cuenca's Terminal Terrestre at 9 and 1. On the return trip your bus is likely to be filled with villagers transporting chickens and other livestock to market. The other option is to take a guided tour. Note that you might want to use a restroom before arriving, as those at the site leave much to be desired.

The Museum of Modern Art, housed in a restored convent, features interesting rotating exhibitions of works by Ecuadoran and other Latin American artists.

Ecuador's Central Bank is a vast repository of art and artifacts, which it displays in museums around the country. This concrete-and-glass structure is its Cuenca installation. Among the archaeological treasures are ceramics and jewelry from the pre-Incan Cañari culture. The museum also contains an impressive collection of colonial and postcolonial art. On the river behind the museum is a small archaeological site where Incan ruins are being excavated.

Surrounded by beautiful colonial buildings, Cuenca's central square is one of the loveliest in South America. Manicured trees tower over men discussing politics, grandmothers walking arm in arm, and children running to and fro. The park is dominated by the pale rose Catedral de la Inmaculada towering over its western edge.

A short drive from the sunny city of Cuenca are the cold, cloudy moors of the publicly owned, privately administered Parque Nacional Cajas, where the average elevation is 10,500 feet. The rugged terrain is the legacy left by glaciers as they retreated some 5 million years ago. Today the nearly 70,000 acres of this national park are home to Andean condors, hawks, and the elusive gray-breasted mountain toucan, as well as wolves, gazelles, and white-tailed deer. The area's 230 trout-filled lakes are accessible by boat, and fishing trips can be arranged through local tour operators and hotels.

Cajas is best explored with an experienced guide, because visitors can easily become disoriented in the stark landscape. A guide will point out the unique páramo vegetation and select the best place to set up camp each evening. Be prepared for strong sun, cold wind, and the possibility of rain. Sunglasses and sunscreen are necessities. There is a ranger station near the entrance where you can sometimes sleep for a small fee, although if the accommodations are full you'll have to make other plans.

The noisy plaza is filled with vendors hawking a variety of bric-a-brac. Under the northern colonnade, merchants sell more enticing wares—colorful skirts, hand-knit sweaters, and intricate hangings.

For a fantastic view of Cuenca by night or day, head up the mountain to the tiny village of Turi. Stroll along Turi's main street past the mural-covered church, and you'll soon find yourself in rolling hills where stucco farmhouses punctuate cornfields and potato patches. Up here there's also a workshop of Eduardo Vega, a well-known artist, where you'll see his ceramics and paintings. A taxi is the best way to get here, but make sure to ask the driver to wait for you.