Ambato Travel Guide

It was lunchtime when I arrived in Ambato so I thought it was best to eat something before I started to walk around and visit museums. I saw there was a restaurant/café in Casa de Cultura on the northwestern side of Parque Juan Montalvo, and they had lunch offers so I went there.

The set lunch menu was $2.40 (July 2012). I was served a salad, a soup and a fruit juice first. When the main dish came I realized I couldn’t cut the meet with my broken wrist, so I had to go to the counter and ask for help (this was not the first time it happened). Usually there is also a desert served with the set lunch menu, and probably there was this time as well, but I have neither notes about this restaurant nor more photos and can’t remember what was served.

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During the usual night walk, some spotlights to see are historical buildings lit up in an eye-catching way, like this one which had an extra ingredient with the moon on top

Dress Code: Warm clothes since it can get chilly at nights

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I walked to the bus terminal and just as I arrived a bus outside the terminal was leaving for Ambato. I hopped on and got a seat. I sat next to a man from Ambato whose name was Darwin. Near Ambato there was a lot of traffic and the bus travelled slowly. In Ambato I had planed to go to the terminal and take a bus to the centre from there. Darwin told me it was better to go off the bus at another place were the buses would pass by. So we went off and so did most people. Before a bus arrived a taxi came. Darwin who was in a hurry back to his work stopped the taxi and as his work was in the centre I could come along . The bus journey from Latacunga took 1h and it was $1 (July 2012).

When it was time to go back to Latacunga in the afternoon I went to Parque 12 de Noviembre from where the buses to the terminal left. I went on board and paid $0.25. I never saw the terminal and when I asked a man about it he told me we had already passed it, but the bus would turn and go downhill again. I could then go off at a roundabout and walk a short distance from there to the terminal. So I got some sightseeing of residential areas of Ambato too.

At the terminal I didn’t see a ticket booth selling tickets to Latacunga. When I asked for it I was told to go directly to the buses outside. There I saw people queuing for the Quito bus. A bus got full and left and another arrived immediately after. I got a seat on that bus. IN Latacunga the bus stopped a few blocks from the bus terminal. Once again the journey took 1h and cost $1.

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Monday is the main market day in Ambato and even if I didn’t arrive until lunchtime I hoped to see some of the activities around the markets. There are several markets around Ambato and I went to the two large indoor markets Mercado Central and Mercado Modelo, which are situated in the centre only a few blocks apart. Even if it was already afternoon there was still lots of people in the surrounding streets, some selling their goods, and also inside the markets. Both markets are very colourful with fruits, vegetables, flowers grains, meat and lots of other things for sale. I had just had lunch when I came here, otherwise I would probably have tried some of the traditional food in the food court, things like llapingachos or cuy.

Opposite Mercado Modelo there was also a smaller market where local craft is sold.

The local delicacy in the Ecuadorian Sierra, and throughout much of the andes, is 'Cuy'.

Cuy is guinea pig. It is cooked several different ways, including deep fat fry, grill, or rotisserie. I have not yet tasted this 'treat', so I can't give any advice on whether or not it is a good choice...