Gualaceo and Chordeleg

While you’re in Cuenca, get the most out of the local artisan scene with a full-day tour of the nearby villages of Gualaceo and Chordeleg. Each of these towns is located in the mountains that surround Cuenca, about an hour outside of the city.

Each of these towns’ craftsmen sells their goods in open-air markets. This tour takes place in a fairly rural part of the Andes, and on your trip you may see locals dressed in traditional, colorful Andean garb.

Your first stop is in Gualaceo, where you’ll see handmade leather displayed in the marketplace, including lots of leather shoes. Gualaceo is the ideal spot to stop for lunch. You can find plenty of hornado on offer, which is a succulent dish of slow-cooked pork marinated in lime juice, chicha (beer made from corn), and native spices. This area is also known for a drink called rosero – a blushing concoction that combines lots of local fruit with sugar, cinnamon, and star anise. For an even smoother drink, get a rosero served with a splash of white wine.

Not all of the Gualaceo’s charms are manmade. Gualaceo’s main attractions are its orchid farms. You’ll visit orchid gardens in Gualaceo to see these flowers in shades of pink, yellow, and purple. Gardens here have thousands of species of orchids, including a large variety of hybrid species.

The town of Chordeleg is known for its filigree jewelry. Its reputation for ornate, silver jewelry has grown so much that large replicas of their famous earrings hang from the lampposts.