Loja, Also known as the "Cradle of National Music", is full of wealth, culture and tradition. Each corner offers multiple possibilities of knowledge, recreation and experiences. It is characterized, for its religiosity and its devotion to the Virgin of the Swan.
I show you several tourist attractions of my city Loja-Ecuador
THE PARQUE RECREACIONAL JIPIRO
The Parque Recreacional Jipiro is one of the main tourist attractions of the city of Loja. It has the most representative architectural replicas in the world. It is known as the Cultural Universality Park, located north of the city.
Is also considered unique in the country because of its composition. One of its main characteristics are the nine ethno-cultural trunks represented with replicas of the most outstanding architectural and cultural expressions of humanity.
CITY GATE
It is the Gateway to the city, it represents part of the Escudo de Loja, in which you can see a medieval castle, through which you can access the center of the city.
The entrance itself, is made up of the Puente Bolívar that passes over the Malacatos River, a castle and the sculptures of Don Quixote and his faithful companion, Sancho
The current entrance to the city of Loja, is a creative reproduction of the original coat of arms and enshrines the noble motto of its foundation: "FIDELIS LOXA LIBERIS"
Located on Av. Gran Colombia and illuminated with colonial-style lamps, the tourist can visit four temporary exhibition halls, a warehouse of publications and handicrafts, a cafeteria and a viewpoint from where you can see part of the downtown area of the city Of Loja.
PODOCARPUS NATIONAL PARK
The Podocarpus National Park is located in an area of great biodiversity and endemism in the southern region of Ecuador. This makes it a clear testimony to the influence of mountains in tropical lands, one of the main reasons for the extraordinary biodiversity of Ecuador. Many studies show that most of the country's biodiversity is packed at these intermediate heights, where the cold is not so extreme and moisture, microclimates, and geographical barriers abound. The area where Podocarpus is located is considered a site of global importance for the conservation of biodiversity.
CATHEDRAL
It is one of the largest churches in Ecuador, it is located in the center of the city in front of Central Park. It is eclectic in style, with historicist, neoclassical and Corinthian elements. It has been restored three times, the last one in 2004.
The cathedral with its unique architectural style, its canopy and choir-carved enmadera, receives every year the Virgin of the Swan.
The cathedral is a church that is conformed by three naves, is of semigótico style and it compose its facade four bodies finished off by a tower and its bell tower.
At its feet is the Central Park of Loja, in whose center is a monument to Bernardo Valdivieso; The Palace of the Provincial Council; Government or Intendance, the Episcopal House and the Municipal Palace.
VILCABAMBA
To the south, in the Province of Loja, is Vilcabamba, the "Valley of the Longevos". Thousands of tourists and pilgrims arrive every year, attracted by the natural beauty of this town and the longevity of its inhabitants.
It has been proven that their life time is superior to the rest of the world, many of them exceed one hundred years old; This is attributed to low disease rates, climate stability, temperature and water with special properties.
Vilcabamba, which in Quichua means "Sacred Valley", is a place of astonishing color and beauty, is bathed by the rivers Chamba and Uchima, has a delicious and cozy climate, with low elevations that make it a suggestive landscape, Considers it a "Paradise Lost" in the mountains.
The history of Vilcabamba begins with the presence of the first Encomendero, Don Pedro de Leon, who was in charge of protecting the Indians and lands of Cucanama, who had no resistance or exerted any pressure on the Indians.
Well that's a bit of the tourist places that has my beautiful store town I hope you liked it a lot