Loja Ecuador
This city is the capital of the Province of the same name, and is situated some 270 miles S.S.W. of Quito, in the valley of Cuxibamba. Loja was founded by the Spanish captain Alonso de Mercadillo on December 8, 1548, meaning it’s one of the oldest towns in Ecuador. Although few of its original buildings survive, the city has some lovely 18th century architecture.
Loja is crossed by two rivers: Malacatos and Zamora, which give a unique personality to the city. It is one of the cleanest and safest cities in Ecuador.
The city has old streets, plazas, churches and monasteries of the colonial era, such as the Cathedral and the Santo Domingo, San Francisco and San Sebastian churches.
Most of the people in Loja are extremely religious. It is common to find religious processions at the Main Plaza, or sometimes even popular bands and fireworks.
Loja has a great past that important fact for Ecuador and the Americas. Here is the big raids organized exploration of the Amazon in search of gold, was planned advanced Bolivarian independence movement, as well as great feats of political and social history of the country.
The city has two universities, a music conservatory and a law school.
Loja is a city that serves as a model for other cities in Ecuador, here you can do all kinds of tourism, from the urban, cultural, religious, adventure, ecotourism, gastronomy to health, one of the most important Tourism is its beauty Jipiro Recreational Park.
Main tourist attractions in Loja
Jipiro Recreational Park
El Parque Recreacional Jipiro has an area of more than 10 hectares, which were donated by the Marist Brothers. The park contains a mosaic of mirrors and cultures that has been identified as a place where culture is represented and the most outstanding architecture in the world.
In Jipiro Park can be seen as exploiting human creativity flora, fauna and architecture of several civilizations, to provide a welcoming park with boating lake, swans, ducks, stage events, boats, bars, restaurants, tennis and spaces camping.
Lojanidad Archeological Museum
Located on the grounds of the Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja, this museum was created to rescue and promote culture and Ecuador Loja. On November 9, 2004 opened its doors to the public, its rooms can see a collection of tools and utensils of 1600 original pieces of Ecuadorian archeology in correlation with the element of "Lojanidad" very typical of the city and province of Loja.
Podocarpus National Park
Ecuador's southernmost, the national park encompasses the best of the country's, various climates and presents them in all their glory to its visitors. In the high zone, layer upon layer of rolling mist flows through the deep forest, and kilometers of ridge-side paths traverse the vibrant ecosystem. Meanwhile butterflies, leafcutter ants, and all manner of the other animal and plant life crowd the trails in the low zone, a primary tropical rainforest along Bombuscaro River.
The San Francisco Cloud Forest in the northeaster part of the park protects an important community of grand, old Podocarpus trees. The park contains an abundance of water, with numerous falls and places to swim.
