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Amaru Biopark & Wildlife Rescue Center

Interest : Nature Type : Rescue center Friendly to: children, families, seniors Relevant categories: Within Cajas Massif Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO - Wildlife Rescue Center by the Ecuadorian Government Hours : Monday to Friday from 09:00 - 17:00, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10:00 - 17h00 Closed: December 25 The Amaru Biopark (Amaru Bioparque Zoológico Cuenca) is an environmental zoological organization that offers a unique experience of contact with animals and plants that are part of the natural and cultural wealth of Ecuador. The Biopark is located 10 minutes from downtown Cuenca, on the Cuenca - Azogues highway. Through the facilities built in its thematic Biopark, Amaru seeks to inspire people to promote the knowledge and protection of Ecuador's biodiversity. This is done thanks to experiences of direct contact with spectacular rescued animals that can no longer return to their habitat. In Amaru these animals find the space as close as possible to their natural environment. Every year Amaru receives around 450 animals that arrive in different states. Some of them from illegal hunting, illegal trafficking of species, confiscations by the National Police, donations by civilians, etc. Amaru receives all these animals thanks to the fact that they have the only wildlife clinic in the south of the country. Amaru carries out volunteer programs, visits, recreation, education, communication and research in alliance with environmental authorities and organizations, with the support of several public and private institutions and with the participation of local communities. The Biopark can be visited daily. Throughout the several kilometers of Amaru’s trails, you will meet more than 42 species of animals rescued from various regions. From the Andes you will find animals like the Spectacled Bear, Pumas, the Andean Condor, Whitetailed Deer or Black-bellied Eagles. From the Amazon you will find animals such as the impressive Jaguar, Caimans, Macaws, different species of amphibians and monkeys. From the Galapagos Islands you can see animals such as Blue-footed Boobies and Galapagos Turtles. The Biopark has even rescued animals from Africa that were illegally brought to Ecuador, so you can admire the imposing African Lions or the Ostrich. But the best experience Amaru offers is its Volunteer Program, with participants from all over the world. In this program volunteers work in all areas of the Biopark. For example, they spend time in nutrition where they will make diets for all the animals; another time in veterinary where they will have direct contact with the animals collaborating with the veterinarians who work in the park; then, volunteers spend a time in maintenance with the construction personnel where they will carry out work related to the creation of new habitats; later on, in education, volunteers will work directly with the visitors and the educational institutions that visit us. The objective of the volunteering program is to generate, execute and culminate specific projects with each volunteer. These objectives will be assigned from the first day of stay. Volunteering is a unique opportunity to learn about wildlife, environmental education, improve your Spanish and discover the local culture of the city of Cuenca (UNESCO World Heritage Site), once the second capital of the Inca Empire. Source: Fundación Municipal Turismo para Cuenca

7.02 Km.

Latitud Cero Beer Brewery

Latitude Zero is Ecuador. Ecuador is in the Middle of the World. In the south of Ecuador, in the city of Cuenca, the Brewery La Paz, brews the artisan beer Latitude Zero. The raw material, barley, is sown in their Hacienda La Paz, sector of the same name over 3.100 meters above sea level, on the way to Loja, in the Nabón canton. The company belongs to the family business group Eljuri. The launch of the Latitude Zero brand is scheduled for July 17, 2015. From that milestone, Cervecería La Paz has developed a variety of delicious flavors, which make the difference in the market of artisanal beers. The brewery obtains different beers, the blonde, wheat beer and the IPA with horchata, stored in the lots Los Conejos, Los Pinos and Los Venados, as a tribute to the diversity of natural species that inhabit the La Paz moor. The elaboration process of the Latitude Zero brand lasts from 26 to 28 days. After fermentation, the beer remains 2 weeks in maturation. It develops 6 shades. Antisana and Apachita with wheat ingredient, Concordia, Catequilla, Punta Palmar and Sierra Negra with barley ingredient. Each one of them has an exclusive personality. With "Latitude Zero Concordia" the company won a gold medal in the "Beer Cup of America", European Pale Bitter Beer category, year 2018, tournament held in Chile. Latitude Zero is currently exported to the United States and Peru. Other brands of Cervecería La Paz are 593 and Hacienda La Paz. Two factors make them different, the ingredients and the quality because they are 100% barley malt, hops, yeast and water. Cervecería La Paz complies with the German Purity Law, with quality and flavor. Law established in 1516.

8.26 Km.

Center of Embroidery Cuenca

With 31 years of experience and a solid position in the international market, the Center of Embroidery Cuenca brings together dozens of craftswomen. Their products are handmade with natural fibers. Winner of the UNESCO Crafts Prize of Excellence 2014. The crafts of this cooperative created in Cuenca in 1989 are exclusive. They were 132 the founders of 11 rural communities of Cuenca, Paute and Gualaceo. It is an organization of Popular and Solidarity Economy (EPS), with the departments of design, technical area, production and administration. Its members believe in equitable development for all. They compete nationally and internationally by offering a variety of quality artistic products. The natural fibers with which they work are cotton, alpaca wool, toquilla straw, with a mixture of embroidery and fabrics. Among their works, the production of clothes such as T-shirts, blouses or dresses stands out. For the home they make table linen, napkins, rugs, bread and wine makers. They have a production line of duvets filled with alpaca wool. Toquilla straw hats and cards. It distributes to different points of the capital of the Azuay, to Quito and Guayaquil. It has clients in Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Chile, Japan, the United States and Canada. The Center protects the art of hand embroidery. To be born in 1989, they received the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Ecuadorian Fund for the Development of the People (FEPP). During these decades of work it has achieved the organization of women, control of intermediaries, training and a better level of income. The members of the cooperative strive to provide full customer satisfaction under strict quality standards and by putting maximum dedication into their embroidery. The Centre has a website with an online shopping function and digital catalogue.

8.52 Km.

La Merced Piazza & Traditional Neighborhood

The Piazza de La Merced is a small esplanade of 1,500 m2. It is the center of an intense social life, especially at night, in the Historical Center of Cuenca, a city declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The square is delimited by the streets Borrero, Honorato Vásquez and Calle Larga. But the neighborhood, of the same name, also keeps a lot of history. The piazza is a space adapted for pedestrians and bicycles. All kinds of cultural, social and artistic activities can be carried out there. It is a space for recreation and meeting of citizens. It has good lighting at night. The piazza preserves several examples of heritage trees, including a poplar and several jacarandas that, when they bloom between September and November, fill it with color. A statue of the priest Julio Maria Matovelle dominates the center of the piazza. This famous priest was a teacher, lawyer, literati, historian, politician and founder of the Congregation of the Oblate Mothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. The construction of the small square began around 1850, as did the church. The La Merced neighborhood is traditionally a sector of workers with a strong religious character. However, today the nightlife is intense in La Merced due to the development of activities such as offices, bars, restaurants, discos and hotels. The Remigio Crespo Toral Museum, the La Merced Church, the old house of the Workers Alliance, the Santísima Virgen del Río Chapel, the Julio María Matovelle Educational Unit, and the Abraham Lincoln Cultural Center are all located in the vicinity.

9.27 Km.

Homero Ortega Toquilla Straw Hat Factory

Homero Ortega is the brand name of an important producer of hats and other toquilla straw articles in the city of Cuenca. For 120 years and five generations, the Ortega family has given continuity to this economic activity, making it the oldest and most experienced organization in the export of straw hats. In 2012 UNESCO inscribed the Traditional Ecuadorian Toquilla Straw Hat Weaving Technique on the list of Intangible World Cultural Heritage. The factory has been based, since its creation until today, in the urban parish of El Vecino, in the city of Cuenca. Homero Ortega is its founder, linked to this work since he was a child. He learned the business from his father Aurelio Ortega García. In the beginning, together they ventured through the dangerous route of "El Cajas" to Guayaquil. In the port they sold hats to merchants who took them to Panama on ships. During the 20th century, the company consolidates and grows. Its success is based on the capacity to adapt to the different scenarios of the world market, to the conception of the toquilla straw hat as a manifestation of the popularity and the production with quality. An outstanding element of Homero Ortega is the Museum "The Magic of the Hat", open to the public since 2008. It was the concretion of a project of public diffusion of the history of the toquilla straw hat as a handmade product in Ecuador. The Museum has three rooms: the history of the hat, its elaboration and the trajectory of the company. Visitors enjoy an interactive experience. One of the most photographed and recognized prints is the toquillera artisan that demonstrates how the hat is woven. The Museum is a member of ICOM, a UNESCO partner institution. Some historical data of the permanent exhibition of the Museum are the following: the Azuayan businessman Bartolomé Serrano had the initiative to teach the hat weaving to the artisans of Azuay and Cañar in 1835, through weavers of the city of Montecristi, to face a strong economic crisis; the toquilla straw hat was the number one export product of Ecuador between 1944 and 1946; the first exports took place in the middle of the XIX century from Manabí; from Cuenca the exports began in 1890.

10.25 Km.

natural

Cojitambo Hill

The Cojitambo hill is of a multiform type according to the angle from which it is seen: From the north: looks like a sleeping lion From Azogues: looks like a greyhound sitting on its hind legs From the south: it appears gallant and imposing, in a pyramidal shape, like a peak that hurts the blue part of the sky. Precisely because of its morphology, the Cojitambo hill is a perfect natural viewpoint, as it offers a 360-degree panoramic view and at a distance that exceeds 30 kilometers; for which from its top you can appreciate beautiful and varied landscapes. For these reasons, the Cojitambo hill is perfect for photography lovers, as it offers several perfect places to photograph, which is why it attracts professionals and amateurs in this art. Location: The Cojitambo hill is located 11 km west of the City of Azogues, in the Cojitambo parish, of the Azogues Canton. Activities that can be performed: Get to know the Cojitambo Archaeological Complex Knowledge of Cañari - Inca history. Lookout. Contact with the nature. Hiking and camping. The area is free camping. Rappelling and climbing practice. Recreation for children and adults. Photo shooting. To take into account: A guide is not required, but if you are a novice you should go with one for safety. There are hostels in the surrounding areas from 5 to 10 dollars a night.

10.72 Km.