Can you establish two cities in the same place with only 13 days difference?

On August 15, 1534, Don Diego de Almagro founded on the plain of Riobamba, the first Spanish city in what is today Ecuador, and named it Santiago de Quito. Thirteen days later, August 28, 1534, on the same plain, San Francisco de Quito was founded. Eventually this name was changed, as there was another city already established to the north with this name, today the capital of Ecuador. Thus was born Riobamba, “The Sultan of the Andes.”

The region was originally the seat of the Puruha nation, which through marriages and conquests became the Shyris and finally the Incas.

With the arrival of the Spanish and after some instabilities and changes, the town of San Pedro de Riobamba was founded, and in 1623 earned the title of a “very noble and very loyal” city.

In 1745, Don Pedro Maldonado described Riobamba as “more advanced in buildings and lineage than its neighbors, and many others in Spain.”

But then arrived February 4, 1797, a disastrous day for the city. That day, a Saturday, before 8 in the morning, a violent earthquake destroyed the well-designed city. The mountain Calca collapsed, burying all of the buildings, and the eruptions of the volcanoes Altar, Tungurahua and Quilotoa finished the destruction of the whole region.

But the people of Riobamba would not be beaten, and they decided to rebuild their city where it is located today, in the center of Ecuador on the plateau of Tapi.

Gonzalez Suarez described the landscape as, “a magnificent horizon, perhaps unique in the world, for the beautiful panorama formed by the snowy mountains of both ranges.”

The liberating winds that cross the continent pass through Riobamba, and it is in this distinguished city that the first Constitution of Ecuador was drafted and signed.

Riobamba, surrounded by a magical and enchanting countryside, is protected by the eternally snowy peaks of Chimborazo, one of the highest peaks in the world (20,700 feet), and certainly the highest in Ecuador. It is accompanied by Altar, Collay, Tungurahua, Carihuairazo, the Cubillines, and the sacred mountain of the Cachas: Chuyug.

Of course, the region is ideal for mountain climbing, and has numerous spots for nature lovers, like the Sangay National Park and the Colta Lagoon, among others.

The existence of ancient humans in the region is evidenced by the fossils of Punin, that date back to 8000 BC. The church of Balbanera is from the colonial period, the first built in Ecuador, and is of perfect architectural proportions, without extravagances or excesses.

Parks, temples, convents, museums…all carry the unique beauty of our towns that is brought together admirably in the Museum of Religious Art of the Conception, an exquisite exhibition of native baroque and the Quito school of architecture.

This is Riobamba, a mix of the best of both worlds, with friendly, hard-working, supportive and progressive people.

Riobamba, an example of the best of the latin spirit.