Museo Pumapungo

Lonely Planet review

Considered Cuenca's most important museum, Museo Pumapungo merits a visit for the maze-like ethnographic exhibit alone. An entire floor of colorfully animated dioramas displays the traditional costumes of Ecuador's many cultures, including Afro-Ecuadorians from Esmeraldas province, the cowboy-like montubios of the western lowlands, several rainforest groups and all the major highland groups.

The climax of the exhibit are five stunningly displayed tsantsas (shrunken heads) from the Shuar culture of the southern Oriente.

The other major aspect of the museum is the archaeological site out back, which is believed to have been the actual location of the Inca site of Tomebamba. All that's left to see, however, are the foundations of a few buildings spread around a landscaped park.