Atlas of Wonder
Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca — illustrated travel poster

Ecuador · Americas

Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca

Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca is set in a valley surrounded by the Andean mountains in the south of Ecuador

The Story

Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca is set in a valley surrounded by the Andean mountains in the south of Ecuador. This inland colonial town (entroterra ), now the country's third city, was founded in 1557 on the rigorous planning guidelines issued 30 years earlier by the Spanish king Charles V. Cuenca still observes the formal orthogonal town plan that it has respected for 400 yea