Tulipe Archaeological Site

Tulipe was a ceremonial centre of the Yumbo, the trading people who lived on the forested western slopes between the highlands and the coast from about 800 AD until the Spanish period, moving goods along a network of deep-cut trails called culuncos that still thread the hills. The site is a group of sunken pools cut into the ground and lined with stone, geometric basins fed by channels from the river, generally read as ritual baths connected with water ceremony rather than utility. A site museum explains the Yumbo world and the trails. The setting is the lower cloud forest, green and birdlife-rich, and the visit combines well with the Mindo road it lies on.

The main sights

• Stone-lined sunken pools - the geometric ceremonial basins.
• Water channels between them - the feeds cut from the river.
• Culunco trade trails - the sunken paths of the Yumbo network.
• The site museum - the trading culture of the western slopes.

When to go

June to September for drier trails; the cloud forest is wet at any season. Half a day. Closed Mondays. It fits naturally with the Mindo road.

What to expect

The pools are modest in scale and the site is quickly seen; the museum and the setting carry the visit. Interpretation is largely in Spanish. Rain is likely whenever you come.

Nearby

Mindo is west; Quito lies south-east over the pass.