Zaruma

Zaruma was founded in 1595 on gold, and the ore has been worked continuously since, which is why the town clings to a steep ridge at 1,200 metres in a shape dictated by the terrain: narrow streets on different levels, a wooden architecture of balconies, carved eaves and painted timber facades that has been proposed for World Heritage listing, and a wooden church at the top. Old tunnels run under and around it, some open for tours. The surrounding hills grow coffee, and Zaruma coffee has a following. The mining is also its problem: unregulated tunnelling beneath the town has caused sinkholes and building collapses in recent years, and parts of the centre have been closed off.

History

The name joins the Quichua sara, corn, and uma, head, after the corn and the gold of the place. The Cañari are thought to have lived here between 500 and 1400 CE, as sites such as Guayquichuma and Chepel suggest, and the Inca under Huayna Capac took the area in the 1480s; legend says that in 1533 the local chief Quinará set out with gold for Atahualpa's ransom and buried it when he heard of the Inca's death. The Spanish leader Alonso de Mercadillo founded the first Spanish towns in the region in 1549, Philip II granted Zaruma the title of royal town for its gold on 17 October 1593, and Captain Damián Meneses founded it definitively on 8 December 1595. An earthquake on 20 January 1749 destroyed the town and most of its mines, and an uprising followed that emptied it for a time, but the mines recovered; between 1536 and 1820 Spain is estimated to have taken some 2,700 tonnes of Zaruma gold. Zaruma declared its independence on 26 November 1820, and in 1998 Ecuador's Institute for Cultural Heritage put it forward to UNESCO (Wikipedia, Zaruma).

Highlights

• Painted timber architecture - balconies and carved eaves on the ridge.
• The ridge-top wooden church - the town's highest point.
• Old gold tunnels - the mine workings open for tours.
• Zaruma coffee - the crop from the surrounding hills.

When to go

Year round; the climate is mild. A day. Mine tours run on demand from the town. Streets are steep at every turn.

Practical notes

Subsidence from illegal mining has caused collapses, and some streets and buildings are fenced off; the situation changes. The road up from Machala is winding and slow. The town is very steep for anyone with limited mobility.

Nearby

Portovelo mining town is adjacent; Machala lies west.

Key facts