Southern Ecuador from Loja: Saraguro’s Market, Ingapirca’s Ruins, and Podocarpus Jungle Trails

The truck pulled over on the Pan-American Highway, high above the town of Saraguro.

Down below, the Sunday market bustled: vendors haggling over produce, children kicking a soccer ball in the plaza, men and women from the surrounding countryside in traditional black attire.

“Abajo,” the driver said, handing me a cup of chicha and gesturing toward a barely visible path ahead. Down there.

Saraguro: Market and Traditions

I was halfway through my stay in Ecuador when that truck brought me to Saraguro.

I’d been teaching ESL in the southern city of Loja, traveling as much as possible — up to Cuenca and along the coast — but an offhand comment from a colleague had recently made me curious about the lesser-visited towns of the region.

With a week of holiday on the work calendar, I decided to set out from Loja on a series of day trips — Saraguro, Ingapirca, and Zamora — to see what lay beyond the usual tourist circuit.

About two hours north of Loja, Saraguro — the center of the southern highlands’ indigenous community — felt like an obvious starting point for me with its lively Sunday market.

As the truck drove off that day, I descended into the town center.

I wandered amongst the stalls, sticking out in a sea of black shawls and hats, admiring the piles of produce and textiles, when an older woman approached me.

She said something in Quechua, then took me by the hand and led me to a casita on the northern end of the square.

Inside the house, a group of women sat making chicha — an Andean corn beverage still made in the traditional style.

I was handed a ball of maize and invited to join in: chew, spit, dry in the sun.

Later, one of the women explained in Spanish that they would mix the dried mash with water to begin the fermentation.

They’d be drinking it by the end of the week.

That evening, as I walked to the highway to catch a ride back to Loja, the market was already packing up.

I tried to picture the community as it must look on festival days, not just in the center of town but across the surrounding villages: the feasts, the dancing, entire plazas packed with people and decorated with flowers.

Each village with its own flavor.

I was sad to have missed it.

Ingapirca: Ecuador’s Inca Legacy

The next day, I found myself standing at a ticket counter in Loja’s central bus terminal.

I’d given hitchhiking another try that morning, but after an unsuccessful hour with my thumb out, I had resigned myself to a ticket north on Ecuador’s $1-an-hour bus network.

I asked the driver to drop me off outside Cañar, and after six hours of breathtaking Andean scenery, that’s exactly what he did.

A car stopped for me immediately.

A short ride later, I was standing at the gates; shortly after that, I had paid the $6 entrance fee and stepped through.

Before me lay Ecuador’s most important set of pre-Columbian ruins — Ingapirca, one of the chief administrative and ceremonial centers of the Inca empire.

I began my tour with the Temple of the Moon — the oldest of the ruins, which, like the rest of the site, was little more than a stone foundation.

Next to it lay the complex’s darkest corner: a tomb housing a Cañari priestess and her servants, drugged and buried alive to accompany her to the afterworld.

From there, I made my way up the hill, past the House of the Chosen — home to the venerated Virgins of the Sun — and into Ingapirca’s showpiece.

Standing inside the elliptical Temple of the Sun, I looked out over the rest of the complex: ritual baths and grain stores that fed the entire region, a network of roads that brought officials from all across the Andes.

Even in ruin, in my final glance from the hilltop, the legacy of Ingapirca was unmistakable.

The imprint of Inca power was all around me.

Zamora: Gateway to Podocarpus

Just steps away from the bus stop, as the humidity pressed in and the smell of jungle hung in the air, I knew the plan for my third day-trip didn’t stand a chance: I had to spend the night.

Like most visitors to Zamora — a former mining hub on the edge of the Amazon, now known as the gateway to Podocarpus National Park — I had come to the town only to pass through.

But after leaving the mountain air of Loja, my arrival felt like a trip into another world, and I wasn’t ready to leave it so quickly.

I found accommodation for the night — a no-frills room in a budget hostel, the kind you’ll see in most Ecuadorian towns — and set off to explore.

I spent that evening wandering the uneven streets of Zamora’s historic center.

After a simple meal of tilapia and yucca — staples throughout the region — dusk fell and the pull of the river drew me to the outskirts of town.

I followed the rushing water, casting my eyes towards the surrounding jungle and imagining the wild darkness beyond.

The following morning, I made my way into the wilderness.

Podocarpus National Park, just beyond Zamora’s limits, is home to hundreds of species of wildlife and more than 4,000 types of plants — a spectacular stretch of nature alongside rivers, waterfalls, and trails.

A single day offers only a glimpse, but when evening arrived, I was on the bus anyway, leaving the jungle and returning to that other world I had come from — the rolling hills of the southern highlands.

Read More: Finally, an ‘Ecotourism’ Destination That Truly Is One: Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador

Loja: City of Music

On Thursday evening, I was back in Loja, sitting on a blanket in San Sebastian Plaza.

In front of me, a band was setting up on stage for Jueves Cultural, the weekly open-air concert downtown — a tradition that underscores the city’s claim as the Music Capital of Ecuador.

I scanned the crowd for familiar faces: colleagues from the school, friends from around town, maybe even a student or two.

With one more weekend before classes re-started, I’d been sketching out the final stretch of my holiday, but it dawned on me as I looked around that everything was already here: museums I’d only half explored and local bands playing venues I’d never been in; strolls through the city’s colonial-era streets and hikes into the surrounding hills; even a meal of cuy — grilled guinea pig, the regional specialty — that my students had been urging me to try.

As the sky darkened overhead, the concert finally began, and the sounds of rhythmic cumbia filled the air.

In that moment, all of Loja seemed to come alive with music and movement — an energy that’s defined the city since long before I arrived.

An invitation for everyone in San Sebastian Plaza, locals and travelers alike, to share the evening’s stage.

If You Go: Southern Ecuador

• Getting there: Most people fly into Cuenca or Loja/Catamayo. Then buses or colectivos connect to smaller towns.

• Getting around: Buses link outlying spots; local travel may require taxis/colectivos. Always double-check schedules locally.

• Best time to visit: Drier months tend to be June–September, with fewer interruptions from rain.

• Where to stay: Mid-range guesthouses in Cuenca or Loja; simpler hostales or eco-lodges for more remote areas.

For those craving more adventure after southern Ecuador, the 4-Day Cuyabeno Amazon Experience at Waita Lodge includes guided jungle activities, wildlife viewing, meals, and accommodations in one of the most biodiverse reserves on Earth.

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Author Bio: Zachary Shell is a Denver-based freelance writer and teacher who spent the best year of his life living in Ecuador—teaching ESL in Loja and exploring every corner of the country. His work has appeared in 5280 Magazine, Edutopia, and Hinterland, among others.

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