Showing 1-13 of 13 results
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Aratinga Aventuras
Aratinga Aventuras is great for bird-watching tours and guides. Both have received good reports.
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Church of Santo Domingo
Two blocks south of Parque Central, the Church of Santo Domingo is worth a peek for a glimpse of the religious paintings inside.
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Jardín Botánico Reynaldo Espinosa
Across the road from the Parque Universitario La Argelia (5km S of town centre) is the Jardín Botánico Reynaldo Espinosa, a four-hectare botanical garden with nearly 900 plant and tree species.
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Museo del Banco Central
On the south side of Parque Central, the Museo del Banco Central has a small exhibit of local archaeology, ethnography and art.
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Orquideario
The highlight of Parque La Banda/Orillas de Zamora (8 de Diciembre) is the beautifully designed Orquideario, which has over 200 species of orchids from southern Ecuador.
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Parque Central
Loja's main plaza is the lively Parque Central, where hordes of people - office workers, cab drivers, newspaper vendors - gather to start the day. Walk over to the east side of the plaza and check out the ornate interior of the cathedral (Parque Central). On the south side of the plaza, the Museo del Banco Central has a small exhibit of local archaeology, ethnography and art.
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Parque de El Valle
Just north of downtown, Parque de El Valle is the heart of the neighborhood of El Valle. It's worth a visit to see the old church and the wooden buildings surrounding the plaza.
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Parque La Banda/Orillas de Zamora
From Parque Recreacional Jipiro (Av Santiago de las Montañas at Salvador Bustamante) it's about 25 minutes' walk to Parque La Banda/Orillas de Zamora, where a small outdoor zoo shelters five types of monkeys, ostriches and a pair of sadly kept Andean spectacled bears. The real highlight of the park is the beautifully designed Orquideario, which has over 200 species of orchids from southern Ecuador.
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Parque Recreacional Jipiro
North of town, Parque Recreacional Jipiro can induce the feeling you've been shrunk down and tossed into a miniature-golf course. Cement pathways meander past little bridges, a giant chess board, mosques, a skate park, a pond with a Chinese pagoda, small animal enclosures, a paddleboat pond and a 'Euro-Latin' castle with a slide running down from the top. To get there, catch a green bus (around US$1 ) from the southeast corner of Eguiguren and Peña.
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Parque Universitario La Argelia
Almost 5km south of the center, on the road to Vilcabamba, the Parque Universitario La Argelia is a 90-hectare forest reserve with excellent trails through the trees.
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Plaza de la Independencia
Be sure to walk over to Plaza de la Independencia, where the citizens of Loja gathered on November 18, 1820 to declare their independence from Spain. It's a lovely plaza, flanked by old, wooden, colonial-era buildings with pillared overhangs and little shuttered balconies.
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Plaza San Francisco
Two blocks north of the Parque Central, Plaza San Francisco is crowned by a statue of the city's founder astride his horse.
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Puerta de la Ciudad
North of downtown, the Puerta de la Ciudad is a giant castle with an arched doorway spanning Sucre, the entrance to downtown. Inside the castle are two floors of art galleries, a café (258 7194; ; -noon & - Mon-Fri, - Sat, - Sun) and several lookouts over town.
Showing 1-13 of 13 results
