Cumbayá

By Christopher Sacco

Little more than a decade ago, Cumbayá consisted mostly of open pastures and country cottages where Quito’s elite escaped the hustle of the capital. Though the farms and rolling fields have been largely displaced by upscale suburbs and open-air shopping malls, the city has maintained some of its rustic charm and a decidedly slower pace than Quito.

Cumbayá sits at the edge of the Valley of Tumbaco, some 20 kilometers east and several hundred meters below the capital. Its location in an inter-Andean valley provides for a climate that is both warmer and considerably drier than Quito’s.

Like Quito, Cumbayá has two centers, a new one and an old one, located just a few kilometers apart.

The new city center consists of two strips of chain stores, including a Supermaxi and Fybeca, that parallel the Via Interoceanica. At the end of these outdoor malls there is a roundabout that gives way to the University of San Francisco de Quito, a small and well respected liberal arts college that caters to Quito’s upper class, the old town, and the City of Tumbaco.

If you continue right off the roundabout on the highway you will eventually end up in Tumbaco. If you go straight and down the hill on Via Interoceanica, you will wind up in the original town. To get to the town plaza, just after the stop light and bus stop, go about a half a kilometer north on Manabi. The plaza has been recently renovated and boasts a wide assortment of good restaurants and high-end shops.