La Ciudad de Loja
Loja is a little town in the south of Ecuador, not far from Peru. There are about 172000 souls living in Loja. The place is calm and very safe compared to Quito and Guayaquil. On the national crime rate you woyld hardly notice Loja.You will like this city even before you enter the iconic city gate, which also contains a museum. The famous spanish anti-heroe Don Quijote and his buddy Sancho Panza, dressed in iron will welcome you. And finally Simon Bolivar himself, the liberator of south America, is portrayed on a great wall.
Hotels in Loja.
Inside Loja you will notice a lot of well-maintained parks, above all Parque Jipiro. Here you will find a little lake where you can take your loved ones for a boat trip, (if you are kind of pedalling). Furthermore there are sport fields, an observatory and miniateure models of citys all over the world.
At the site view “El Pedestal” you may vist the statue “the Black Virgin”. She is not called so because she is vicious. The term refers to that she is cast in black bronze.
You do not leave Loja without trying the local cuisine specialties. “Repe” is a very nutritious soup based on green bananas, potatoes, milk and silantro.
From Loja you can proceed to the Pilgrim Church El Cisne, the Podocarpus National Park and the mythical Vilcabamba, known for the old ages of their citizens. May be they have found the fountain of youth?