Ibarra

Ibarra, la ciudad blanca, is the provincial capital of Imbabura, flattened by an earthquake in 1868 and rebuilt in the low white colonial manner that gives it its name, with arcaded plazas, churches and a relaxed climate at 2,200 metres that is warmer than Quito. Its everyday fame is culinary: helados de paila, sorbets made by spinning fruit juice in a bronze pan set on ice and straw, a technique said to go back to before the Spanish, when ice was brought down from Imbabura, with the Rosalia Suarez shop the institution among many. The city is the base for the Yahuarcocha lake circuit, the train to the Chota valley when running, and the road north toward the topiary cemetery at Tulcan and the border.

History

Ibarra was founded in 1606 by order of Miguel de Ibarra, President of the Royal Audience of Quito, and grew with a systematic programme of public buildings, among them many churches, most of which the earthquake of 16 August 1868 destroyed; the city was resettled in 1872, which by its latest founding date makes it the youngest city in Ecuador. The Inca ruler Atahualpa is said to have been born at the Inca settlement of Caranqui, about 2 km away. Helados de paila, the sorbets still sold in the markets, are said to have been made here since Inca times by the native people, using ice from the Imbabura volcano, which no longer carries snow, with fruit juices stirred in a large bronze pan surrounded by ice shavings (Wikipedia, Ibarra, Ecuador).

What's there

• Helados de paila - sorbet spun in bronze pans on ice.
• White arcaded plazas - the post-1868 rebuild.
• The Rosalia Suarez heladeria - the shop that made the tradition.
• Yahuarcocha nearby - the lake circuit on the edge of town.

When to go

Year round. Half a day. The centre is liveliest in the evening paseo. September's Fiesta de los Lagos brings processions and races.

What to expect

It is a pleasant provincial city rather than a destination, and an afternoon covers it. Traffic is heavy on the through roads. The famous ice cream is the memory most visitors leave with.

Nearby

Laguna Yahuarcocha is north-east; Otavalo lies south.

Key facts