Begin your journey at 11:00 a.m. in Parque Calderón, the very heart of the city, guarded by its two cathedrals and surrounded by colonial architecture that earned Cuenca its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, the storey of the city unfolds: its foundation, independence, and the visit to Cuenca’s first university, cradle of local thought and learning.

Continue to the Flower Market Square, considered one of the most beautiful in the world, and then to the 10 de Agosto Market, where you can take part in an energy cleansing ritual guided by an Indigenous woman—an ancestral practice of balance and renewal. At the same location, enjoy lunch, with a wide variety of traditional Ecuadorian dishes offered at very affordable prices, just as locals do.

Walk along the bohemian banks of the Tomebamba River towards the iconic Pumapungo Museum, where you can explore palaeolithic, pre-Columbian and Ecuadorian ethnography halls, as well as the Inca archaeological site where Huayna Capac, father of the last Inca Atahualpa, was born. Here, view the tablets that survived the fire of Father Crespi’s museum.

The tour is guided by Ronald, a historian and ufologist who descended into the legendary Cave of the Tayos and shares its living history and mysteries in the first person.