Ecuador travel blog by Mark Berman -
July 2011
September 2018
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I visited Cayambe during my 3rd and 6th trips to Ecuador. The first time I left Tulcan by bus in the morning, passed through Ibarra and Otavalo and arrived in
Cayambe about 4 and a half hours later. The second time from Quito Airport to Cayambe is just 45mins. I had read that Cayambe is famous for its flowers, biscuits called Bizcochos and there are pyramids
here. From where the bus from Tulcan dropped me off I took a local bus into the center of town. I asked several locals about the pyramids
but none had ever heard of them. Eat Some Bizcochos
First thing to do was to try some Bizcochos. I visited the shop of 'Bizcochos Katherine', by the door is a
huge pizza-type oven with Bizcochos baking. At the back of the shop the owners were happy to let me take photos of them working. I bought
a few Bizcochos and took them away to munch on, they were very nice, crunchy and cheesy.
Monuments to Famous Locals
Nearby was a monument to David Elias Manangon
Cartagena (1904-1979), a local professor, author and music writer. I also found a monument to Sergio Mejia Aguirre (1895-1972), a poet and
professor of music.
The Central Park
I walked a couple of blocks to the central park - Parque Central 23 de Julio. It is a nice place with trees, flower
gardens and a blue and white church Iglesia Matriz de Cayambe on one side, there are many indigenous people around. On the opposite side of
the park is the museum and several colorful murals of important people to Cayambe,
Dolores Cacuango (1881-1971) was involved in
the indigenous rights movement. Another is of
Luis Humberto Salgado (1903-1977), a famous composer and director of the National Music
Conservatory. Others include Ruben Rodriguez (1904-1973), Transito Amaguana (1909-2009), an Ecuadorian indigenous leader and
Eloy Alfaro (1842-1912),
twice President of Ecuador. To the left of these murals is the museum and downstairs is the tourist office, ask about the pyramids here - Piramide
de Puntiatsil.
Streets, Churches, Plazas & Parks
I took a walk through the historical streets of Cayambe, there are many colorful houses, shops and balconies. There are more
murals of famous Ecuadorians scattered around town, author
Juan Montalvo (1832-1889),
scientist and writer
Eugenio Espejo (1747-1795), Eloy Alfaro and
Gonzalez Suarez (1844-1917), a priest and historian.
Cayambe has a few more churches and several parks and plazas - Parque Yaznan, Parque Ruben Rodriguez, Parque Nasacota Puento, Parque a La Madre
and Plaza de Toros. The main festivals are the Equinox around the 21st of March and in the 2nd half of June the celebrations of San Pedro and Inti Raymi.
They Grow Flowers Here
The area of Cayambe is known for growing beautiful flowers. They were selling them on the streets, roses of
orange, yellow, pink, red and white.
In the Region
In the area and towns surrounding Cayambe there are a few archaeology
sites including some more pyramids called Piramides de Cochasqui.
To Sum Up
Cayambe is a nice place to stop
for an afternoon and spend a few hours exploring the city. There is a hostel close to the central park area if you wish to stay the night.
Distances Away
From Cayambe it is 28kms north to
Otavalo, 18kms to Puembo, 70kms to
Quito and 36kms to Oyacachi.
Bus to Guayllabamba
At the end of the
afternoon I took a bus 25kms south / west (30mins) to
Guayllabamba where
I slept the night and visited the fantastic
Quito Zoo on the next day.
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Flowers grown in Cayambe for sale in the local streets.
Meat and vegetable broth cooking beside the street in Cayambe.
Inside view of the golden archways of Iglesia Matriz de Cayambe.
A pair of Cayambe locals admire the park and church.
