Qualla: Guaranda https://qualla.com/guaranda en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:08 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Guaranda https://qualla.com/guaranda Guaranda: Introduction https://qualla.com/guaranda/ They call it the City of the Seven Hills, and for once the nickname earns itself. San Jacinto, Loma de Guaranda, San Bartolo, Cruzloma, Tililac, Talalac, el Mirador - seven peaks cradling a town that, at 2,650 meters, is the smallest provincial capital in the Ecuadorian highlands. But the first thing a visitor learns about Guaranda is not the topography. It is the name of a drink: Pajaro Azul. Blue Bird. A firewater made from aguardiente steeped with local herbs until it glows faintly in the light, and offered freely during the eight-day Carnaval that has made this otherwise modest Andean town famous across the country.

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/p/x/y/guaranda-wk/6pxy-guaranda-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Guaranda: The Party Funded by One Man https://qualla.com/guaranda/ Guaranda's Carnaval is not organized by a committee or a tourist board. Each year, the festivities are personally funded and officially opened by a large local landowner warmly called Taita Carnaval - Father Carnival - who makes a grand entrance into town to signal that the party...

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/p/x/y/guaranda-wk/6pxy-guaranda-the-party-funded-by-one-man.mp3 0:06 2 full Guaranda: The Statue With the Bees https://qualla.com/guaranda/ In Parque El Libertador, the central park where residents gather between six and nine most evenings, stands a statue of Simon Bolivar - the Liberator whose name this whole province carries. Local residents will tell you that a bees' nest has lived under the statue's right armpit ...

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/p/x/y/guaranda-wk/6pxy-guaranda-the-statue-with-the-bees.mp3 0:06 3 full Guaranda: The Indian Guaranga https://qualla.com/guaranda/ Three kilometers from the town center, on a hill in the northwest, the five-meter statue of El Indio Guaranga looks out over the Chimborazo volcano. The monument honors the Indigenous leader whose name became the town's name, and sits beside a cultural center and history museum c...

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/p/x/y/guaranda-wk/6pxy-guaranda-the-indian-guaranga.mp3 0:06 4 full Guaranda: Market Days and Masked Riders https://qualla.com/guaranda/ The main market days are Friday and Saturday on Plaza 15 de Mayo, with Saturday being the bigger of the two. Locals wear traditional dress - the older women in full ponchos and hats - while stalls sell produce, woolens, and crafts from the surrounding farms. This is when Guaranda...

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/p/x/y/guaranda-wk/6pxy-guaranda-market-days-and-masked-riders.mp3 0:06 5 full Guaranda: Leaving Town https://qualla.com/guaranda/ Guaranda sits at a transportation crossroads. Buses run to Riobamba in two hours, to Ambato in two hours, to Quito in four to five hours, to Guayaquil in four and a half, each trip for about $2.50. The roads thread through high paramo and into the valleys. Nearby villages worth a...

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/p/x/y/guaranda-wk/6pxy-guaranda-leaving-town.mp3 0:06 6 full