Learn Spanish in Cuenca, Ecuador - Spanish language schools in Cuenca, Ecuador

Cuenca in Ecuador is a city of cobblestone streets, towering cathedrals, and marble and whitewashed buildings, giving it an colonial air unequaled in Ecuador and therefore listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Cuenca was originally a Cañari settlement called Guapondeleg ("land as big as heaven") and is believed to have been founded around 500 AD. Later on the Inca conquered the Cañari and occupied Guapondeleg and the surrounding area and constructed a grand city of golden temples. However by the time the Spaniards found the legendary city all that remained were ruins, leaving everyone to wonder what happened to the fabled splendor and riches of the second Inca capital. After being abandoned by the Cañari and then the Inca, Cuenca was sparsely populated until the 1550's. But then it's population and importance grew steadily during the colonial era and reached the peak of its importance in the first years of Ecuador's independence; it became the capital of one of the three provinces that made up the nascent republic.

In addition to being the cultural Mecca of Ecuador, Cuenca is the third largest city in the nation, and the economic center of the southern Sierra. Like the rest of the Ecuadorian Andes, Cuenca enjoys a mild climate year-round. Days are generally warm and nights are cool enough that you should pack a sweater.