Zumbagua Travel Guide

4 more images

Every Saturday there is a market in Zumbahua and it is a very colourful and interesting market, especially the animal market. The animal market begins already at 5am when people from the surrounding villages are coming in to Zumbahua with their llamas, sheep, pigs and cows to sell. I arrived at 6.30 and then the muddy market ground was filled with men and women dressed in colourful ponchos and scarves with their animals.

After visiting the animal market in the outskirts of town I walked up to the central plaza where there are fruits, vegetables, bread, grains, clothes, chicken meat, DVDs and much more for sale. There are also many food stands and a couple of stands selling souvenirs.

There were mot many tourists at the market, which I liked. However, I visited early so more tourists might arrive a little later.

I was going to eat breakfast when I returned to Posada de Tigua after visiting the market in Zumbahua, but so long I couldn’t wait for coffee and something to eat. At the market there are several food stands and I sat down at one on the main square. There I bought two big warm fried empanadas and a coffee. The empanadas didn’t have any filling but was dough fried as you waited, and they tasted very good and were very greasy. For the two empanadas and the coffee I paid $0.75 (July 2011).

One option, if you stay at Posada de Tigua and want to visit the market in Zumbahua early in the morning, is to walk the 800 metres up to the main road in the dark and wait for an early bus. Another option is to take a private transport from the posada, and that is what I and a Dutch couple did. We shared the price of $20 (July 2011) one way and left Tigua at 5.45 in the morning. We had been told that it takes 15 minutes to Zumbahua, but when we were dropped of by the animal market, which is further down than the rest of the market around the main square, it was almost 6.30.

Going back to Tigua, to have a late breakfast and pick up my bags, I took a bus. First I thought I would have to walk up to the main road, but just one block from the main square a bus heading for Latacunga was waiting and it was going to leave in 5 - 10 minutes. To Tigua I paid $0.50. The Dutch couple were on the same bus. Soon after we had started our walk down to the posada from the main road, Marco from the posada passed us with his pick up and we got a lift.