Cuenca best tour option in 3 days from Cuenca

Our family of four adults booked a two-way transfer from Guayaquil to Cuenca and several tours in Cuenca with Polylepis. We had originally booked for May 2020, but had to postpone until June 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Edison was our guide for the entire stay on Ecuador mainland. He was very knowledgeable and made sure we tried the local foods. One of our favorites was a road-side restaurant with giant homey meals right before the ascent into the mountains begins. Edison is an avid birder and he was pointing out birds before we even made it out of the Guayaquil city limits. We had an issue with the apartment we had booked and could not reach the owner and Edison took us to a hotel in the center and set us up with a giant room. We were so exhausted that this help was highly appreciated. The next day, Edison took us around Cuenca and showed us the center,the Homero Ortega hat factory (great for buying Panama hats), the park Paraiso (more bird watching), local snacks in a local cafe, a local art gallery, all the best views of the New Cathedral and short walk inside the New Cathedral. We had a day to ourselves and then Edison picked us up to take us to Saraguro and the local communities that live there. We were joined by Jaunita, one of the elders and representatives of the community. She shared a cleansing ceremony by a waterfall and we had an amazing home-cooked meal in a family home. We did the 1,000 bird tour on the way back to Guayaquil and did two walks at altitude in the Cajas National Park. It was fascinating to see the various birds that could not be found anywhere else along with some familiar favorites. Thank you, Edison and Polylepis for sharing your knowledge and love of Cuenca and Ecuador!

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