Cumbayá

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 underpass. At the end of these outdoor malls is the even newer and bigger Paseo San Francisco shopping mall, which is right at the crux of the Interoceanica mini-tunnel and Diego de Robles bypass. Right beside it is the University of San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), a private and well respected liberal arts college that caters to Quito’s upper class, the old town, and the City of Tumbaco.


If you continue down through the Interoceanica mini-tunnel you'll eventually end up in Tumbaco. If you take the bypass however (the lane to the right of the tunnel) you'll end up in the Old Town of Cumbayá. To get to the town plaza, just go down the bypass and turn left at the corner of Paseo San Francisco, go past USFQ and turn right on Pampite Ave., follow this street down to the reservoir and turn right on Chimborazo, and then left on Orellana. The plaza has been recently renovated and boasts a wide assortment of good restaurants and high-end shops.

Other neighborhoods in Quito: Calderón, La Floresta, Northern Quito, Guápulo, Centro Histórico, San Marcos, Pululahua Volcanic Crater, Mitad del Mundo, Checa and Plaza Foch.