Alausí and Cuenca

Before we continued to our next slightly longer stay, we made a stop for two nights in Alausí on the way. Alausí is just a small village where there isn't really much exciting to do. The area is known for Nariz del Diablo, a rock formation that apparently looks like the Devil's nose. Before the Corona pandemic, you could take a historic train from Alausí to the Nariz del Diablo. Unfortunately, the railway company went bankrupt during the pandemic and you can only look at the train at the Alausí station, but you can't ride it anymore. However, there is a super beautiful hiking trail with breathtaking views, where you come out on the top of Nariz del Diablo and have a panoramic view of the whole area. We were also lucky with the weather. Although it was rainy season in Alausí, it cleared up occasionally, so we could enjoy the view with some sunshine.

From Alausí, we took the bus to Cuenca the next day, the most beautiful city in Ecuador. Our accommodation was on the outskirts of the historic city center, right on Call Larga, Cuenca's entertainment street. The city center was not far away either. The old town is really beautiful, with many restaurants, nice cafes, and lots of shops. During a free walking tour, we learned more about the city. The tour took us to one of the city's markets, the Sombreromuseum, and finally to the main square of the city with the old and new cathedral.

From Cuenca, you can also reach the Cajas National Park in about an hour. There are several hiking trails at an altitude of almost 4000 meters that lead through an extraordinary landscape. It goes up and down through the mountains, past many large and small lakes, and sometimes through small forests. But it took us over 3 hours for the barely 3-kilometer route because hiking at 4000 meters is not that easy. At the end of the trail, we saw a herd of llamas and could observe them eating up close.

We spent our last day in a relaxed manner. Jogging in the morning, strolling through the city in the afternoon, and in the evening, we went to a viewpoint to admire the city from above both during the day and at night. At that time, there was a competition to crown an indigenous beauty queen, so there was really a lot going on.

We really liked our days in Cuenca, partly because of our really great accommodation and partly because of the relaxed atmosphere in the city. We could have stayed a few more days there. However, since we only had a few more days in Ecuador before heading to Bolivia, we wanted to go to the beach again and enjoy the sun.