Cayambe - Town and a Volcano

San Pedro de Cayambe, or simply Cayambe, is a town in the northeast of the province of Pichincha in Ecuador.

It is the seat of the canton Cayambe; which takes its name from Cayambe volcano.

The town is situated at the foot of volcano’s west slope.

The equator cuts through the town.

  

VOLCANO CAYAMBE

The volcano Cayambe is the secret of a few climbers in Ecuador.

It is much less popular than Cotopaxi but offers a climb just as beautiful, just a much less traveled route.

Humboldt after his visit to Ecuador Volcano wrote about this: "This mountain can be considered one of the monuments with which Nature has made ​​a big difference on Earth."

The volcano’s summit is just 3km north of the equatorial line.

HISTORY OF CAYAMBE

Cayambe has a long history and a big part in the struggle for the indigenous people’s rights in the Ecuador.

Transito Amaguaña and Dolores Cacuango were both pioneering women who fought against the slavery and mistreatment of indigenous people.

According to the oral memory of Kayambi people their territory was located in the provinces of Pichincha, Imbabura and Napo.

Their territory was limited in the north by Lake San Pablo, in the south by the Guayllabamba River, in the east by the Eastern Cordillera and in the west by the Western Cordillera.

Its capital was Puntiatzil  which is the town of Cayambe.

Located three blocks from Central Park was a place worship with a large cylinder in silver.

This cylinder was used as calendar and solar time piece, which was dismantled by the Spaniards.

The Kayambi chiefdom had astronomical observatories and monitoring points throughout its territory; from Quito Loma Pambamarca (Cangahua parish) to Pesillo (parish of Olmedo) that maintained a communication system with each other.

FESTIVITIES OF CAYAMBE

The festivities of Cayambe are very important and known throughout Ecuador.

They begin in mid-June and end in early July, with many acts and especially its popular bull fights.

It is the time of the feast of San Pedro, and the Indigenous festivity known as Intiraymi held in the "Harvest Festival".

There are many performances of Ecuadorian traditional music that are worth seeing and hearing.

In its traditional celebrations, there are a variety of dishes, but the best known is the mote (a type of white corn) served with potatoes, and with peanut sauce.

Of course you can never leave Cayambe without first tasting roasted guinea pig.

Cayambe’s biscuits and cheese are also very famous and many people come to taste them year round.

CAPITAL OF THE ROSES

The town is also known as one of the most important cities in the production of flowers worldwide.

Most of the famous Ecuadorian giant roses come from Cayambe or the nearby villages.