Private Gualaceo & Chordeleg craft-making villages tour

This tour was truly a view into a variety of Ecuador’s artisans, enhanced by our excellent guide, Eddie. At every stop we were able to see how products were made and be amazed by the skills of gifted people, some of whom were self-taught and others who were continuing a craft handed down from earlier generations. Between stops, we were given a thorough history/geography lesson of the region. Eddie is outstanding and we were sad to say goodbye at the end of the tour.

This was a great tour. We drove through the countryside which allowed us to see small villages, farms and beautiful scenery. Gualaceo is a beautiful town. We walked around "shoe street", a street with more shoe stores than you can imagine ... shoes and leather goods are prominent items in that town. We visited the church beside the town square ... it is beautiful. The square has the "GUALACEO" sign in it. Sadly the fountain is not working but everybody still takes a photo with the sign! The park across from the church is still festooned with Christmas decorations including Santa's sleigh which made for more photo opportunities. Chordeleg was our favourite town. The people are bery engaging and keen to talk. Our Canada tags give us away and they want to know where in Canada we are from and to tell us about their relative in Canada or their visit to Canada. It was delightful, although gave my intermediate Spanish a real work out. The square downtown is not to be missed. There are dozens of fine jewelery shops with beautifully designed pieces in gold and silver at very reasonable prices. It's worth it even if only to see the beauty of the artistry and interact with the people. Oh yes, our first stop was at a museum/shop where we learned about woven products from scarves to shawls to ponchos and more made from cotton, wool, silk and bamboo fibres. Jose, the weaver explained to us how the threads were died using all natural dies from plants, insects and minerals. The patterns produced are directly from the weavers head and result in repeated rows of butterflies, flowers, hummingbirds, mountains and many others. The loom was nothing like I've ever seen in Canada almost primitive looking and produced beautiful end products. Pope John Paul II visited this place and wore as shawl made there during a service. Although Pope Francis did not visit the shop, he too wore a shawl from there in a services. The photos of each of them are on the wall. Finally, our guide and driver, Adrian, was among the best we've ever encountered. He is a cautious and careful driver. As we moved from place to place, he proudly told us about his country, it's economy, the areas we visited and answered our endless questions. His English is flawless so communication is easy. Like many Ecuadorians, he has at least two jobs. In addition to guiding tourists, he is an automechanic. My husband, Michael, worked in the auto industry until retirement, so they had that in common and resulted in some interesting conversational sharing photos with one another of their classic cars!! All in all, it was a perfect day. We highly recommend this tour, and, in particular, Adrian.

The visit to the Makana Museum was very touching and we learned a lot about this ancient tradition. After that, in Chordeleg we had a great time seeing (and buying!) beautiful silver jewelry. Very nice trip!

This tour offers the opportunity to see a bit more of the countryside and towns near Cuenca, as well as the traditional crafts of the area. Learning about the process of making the macana, the traditional Ecuadorian shawl, was fascinating. My tour was led by Sebastian, who is full of interesting information about practically anything you might want to know about Ecuador, both in the present and past! Thank you so much for the lovely day!

Our guide, Sebastian, was very knowledgeable about the local craftsmen in the surrounding Cuenca area. We had an enjoyable trip to Chordeleg to visit a local silversmith and see the hat weavers. We stopped at the mercado in Gualaceo and visited the orchid farm. My wife is a weaver and enjoyed seeing the craftsmen at La Casa Museo de la Makana. It was a very enjoyable day.

Our guide, Sebastian, was very knowledgeable about the local craftsmen in the area surrounding Cuenca. We had an enjoyable trip to Chordeleg to visit a local silversmith and see the hat weavers. We stopped at the mercado in Gualaceo and visited the orchid farm. My wife is a weaver and enjoyed seeing the craftsmen at La Casa Museo de la Makana (picture included). It was a very enjoyable day.

We had a great time on this tour. Sebastian was a wonderful guide and he has a wealth of knowledge, not only about the villages, about Cuenca, and about Ecuador in general. He was very patient in answering our many questions. Definitely the check out the orchid farm. There was an extra charge for that but it was the highlight of the trip, along with seeing the weaving. I wish we had actually been able to see the jewelry makers in action, but the finished products are beautifully crafted. A really nice half day trip.

Another fantastic tour led by Adrian. Great insights and abundant knowledge. A truly wonderful experience.

We thoroughly enjoyed this half day trip. Andreas was an amazing guide and we learned a lot from him. He took us to a local market and an orchid farm. Andreas was very professional and so well informed about the entire area. I’d highly recommend this tour.

My husband and I had a great day with Sebastian our guide. Very professional with unique knowledge of Cuenca and all the local towns we visited. Local history, culture and geography. Having a private driver with attention to Covid-19 safety protocols made our trip safe and very relaxing. A great break.