Visit to the Authentic Rural area around Zuleta, Imbabura.

All roads lead to ….. Zuleta is worth your visit if you want to explore a beautiful & authentic rural Andean area. Zuleta is located in the middle of the Triangle Otavalo – Cayambe – Ibarra.

However, if you choose to visit Zuleta directly from our hotel Doña Esther in Otavalo there’s an alternative route. Taking the road from the San Pablo lake & town directly to Zuleta. A beautiful area in itself.

All in all, a region ideal for hikers, bikers & horse riders. Or also just to tour around or have yourself a picnic.

Index/Table of Contents hide

1 Visit to Zuleta: in pictures

2 And on to Angochagua, Imbabura

3 How to get to Zuleta?

Visit to Zuleta: in pictures

Instead of writing it all down for you, I’ll fill this post mostly with photo impressions. Pictures taken by my daughter Lisa during a recent visit to Zuleta.

That said, every time we visit the Zuleta area we get new impressions & views. In other words, your own experience depends on what you wanna do there & what you’re looking for. The objective of this photo-file is mainly to give you an idea of the area’s beauty.

Enjoy!

A good starting point, Ayora near Cayambe. After crossing the old bridge to your left, turn right immediately.

Picture taken between Ayora & Olmedo, Mt. Cayambe in the background.

An authentic rural place in a beautiful valley: Olmedo, Pichincha

After Olmedo, Pichincha you cross over to the northern province of Imbabura. The first place you encounter is the beautiful village of Zuleta.

Besides many restaurants on the road (speciality “Borrego” or Lamb chops), in & around Zuleta you’ll find several shops that sell local products, like wood works, “hand embroidered” textiles & pure honey.

Hacienda Zuleta

Central in the area you’ll find the Hacienda Zuleta. A hacienda with its own long history, but one of the few that’s still operative until this day. Not as a hacienda, but as a working farm which produces cheese, honey, marmalades & other products. Besides being a luxury hotel & restaurant.

One of the former presidents of Ecuador, Galo Plaza Lasso (1906-1987) lived at the Hacienda Zuleta. Born in New York he was the son of another former Ecuadorian president, Leonidas Plaza (1865-1932). The picture only shows the main gate to the hacienda & the cafeteria/shop to the right.

You can only visit the Hacienda de Zuleta with a reservation.

At the entrance though there’s a cafeteria/shop & terrace which serves coffee, cake, ice cream & some tasty lunch plates (The shop opens Wednesdays – Sundays, the cafeteria so far only on Saturdays & Sundays).

If the cafeteria is closed, you can try one of the restaurants along the route Ayora – Ibarra. Almost all of them specialise in lamb chops from the grill – so-called “borrego” – but most serve other plates as well.

Besides having a bite, you’ll find several small handicraft shops along the way with local products, like embroidery, wood works, honey and other products.

And on to Angochagua, Imbabura

Continuing on, you can make a detour to the little village of Angochagua. Actually the head village of the parish of the same name, of which Zuleta is a part.

Before entering the village of Angochagua, you’ll encounter a small park with a sun calendar.

La iglesia de Angochagua, Imbabura

To the left, the Imbabura crater. To the right, some of the local attractions of Angochagua, not far from the main plaza.

The local mechanic, Angochagua

Iglesia of San José, near San Pablo, Imbabura. To the left, Mt. Imbabura.

Crossing over from Zuleta to San Pablo you get some nice views of the San Pablo lake.

*****

How to get to Zuleta?

There are no buses to the area, so if you don’t have your own (rented) car, the only option is to hire a taxi.

If you arrange a taxi & tour on your own, I’d like to recommend you to:

Negotiate a price beforehand & pay at the end of the tour.

And secondly, be sure he/she knows how to drive. (Hard to know beforehand, but I’d say hire a somewhat older driver & if you don’t like the way he/she drives soon enough, look for another one).

Alternatively, you can arrange a taxi. Estimate price: $10-12 an hour, but remember:

To negotiate a price beforehand, and
Pay at the end, when you’re back in Otavalo/Cotacachi

Where to Stay

Otavalo

When you are looking for the best place to stay in Otavalo, I’d highly recommend to have a look at our former hotel/restaurant there:

Hotel Doña Esther/Restaurante Árbol de Montalvo.

A beautiful, safe & friendly place in the heart of the city with an excellent, cozy restaurant with a huge variety of local & international dishes. Run nowadays by former staff members of ours. Experienced & professional.

To learn more, go to: Hotel Doña Esther, Otavalo

Inner Courtyard Hotel Doña Esther.

Cotacachi

However, if you prefer to stay in nearby Cotacachi, I’d like to introduce our new Airbnb in Cotacachi.

A complete rental home we – that’s me & my wife Wendy – recently finished building for people who want to visit & explore the many Things to do in & around Otavalo/Cotacachi.

We owned & ran the mentioned hotel in Otavalo for over 22 years. After selling the place we decided to continue on with a smaller accommodation in beautiful Cotacachi.

If you first would like an introduction to Cotacachi, click on:

The Beautiful & Magical City of Cotacachi

Casa Santa Ana

An Airbnb we named Casa Santa Ana. After the official name of our “Magical City”: Santa Ana de Cotacachi. As well as Wendy’s mother – my mother-in-law – Anna.

Besides a spacious living room with chimney & full equipped kitchen, our Airbnb has two separate bedrooms. Each with its own bathroom. Ideal for 1, 2 to 4 people. Or also a family with 2 or 3 smaller children.

Minimum stay: 3 nights. Maximum stay: several months (!).

From the partially covered rooftop terrace – also with a chimney – you have magnificent views of the old city center & surrounding area. Like the mountain of the same name in the background.