Ibarra

Ibarra is a city in Ecuador. It's a colonial town of 100,000 inhabitants and the capital of Imbabura province, and is halfway to the Ecuador-Colombia border at Tulcán.

Understand
Ibarra has preserved much of its colonial architecture in its city center and its plazas are clean and picturesque. It is a good place for those going to Otavalo's markets to stay it, if you want to get away from the tourists yet still be a short bus ride from the market.

The city has a long and colorful history. Between 1510 and 1520 the Inca rebelled against the Spanish conquistadors. The Battle of Yahuarcocha took place near Ibarra. The town was officially founded in 1606. During Ecuador's War of Independence in the 19th century, Simon Bolivar led the attack in the Battle of Ibarra, which lasted more than a week. In 1868, earthquakes hit the town in the middle of the night, destroying most of the town and causing more than 13,000 deaths. The town was rebuilt, giving Ibarra the grounds for claiming to be the "youngest city in Ecuador".

Get in
It is 2.5 hours north of Quito on the Panamerican highway, and about 30 minutes by bus from Otavalo.

Ibarra has a modern bus station, although some buses that pass through the town don't go there. The bus from Quito costs $3 and takes 2.5 hr. To Tulcán costs $3.5 and takes 2.5 hr.



Get around
A taxi within the city costs $1.

See


Downtown, relax at one of the two town squares, Parque Pedro Moncayo or Parque La Merced, fronting historic buildings and churches. Also you could see pre-Columbian archaeological items, colonial art, and historical exhibits or other displays depending on the curators' decisions at the Central Bank Museum about 2 blocks south of Parque Pedro Moncayo on Antonio Jose de Sucre.

Go next

 * Laguna Cuicocha
 * Tulcán for those heading to Ipiales, Colombia