The
capital of
Chimborazo
Province,
Riobamba likes
to call itself
the ‘Sultan
of the Andes',
which is perhaps
pushing travel
brochure hyperbole
a bit far.
Forming the
agricultural
centre of
the region
with a population
of more than
100,000, the
town blessed
with one of
the most dramatic
geographical
settings in
the country.
On clear days,
the volcanoes
of Chimborazo
and El
Altar
provide the
most captivating
backdrop imaginable.
At an elevation
of 2,700 m
[9,000 ft],
it is a pleasant
country town
with some
eye-catching
colonial architecture
that comes
alive during
market day
on Saturday.
The small-scale
ceramics,
cement, textiles,
shoe manufacturing,
food processing
and local
craft industries
make it the
hub of local
commerce.
Although not
a popular
tourist destination,
Riobamba makes
a fine base
for exploring
the region
and is the
departure
point for
the thrilling
train ride
down to Guayaquil.
Background
In
pre-Inca days
the Peruha
tribes settled
in the Chimbo
region. After
the Inca
conquest,
in typical
Inca
manner, many
of these tribes
were forced
south while
people from
the south
were moved
north to replace
them. As a
result there
is a great
mixture of
indigenas
in the
region who
wear a variety
of traditional
costumes and
hats.
In 1534 the
Spanish took
over an Inca
site where
the modern
town of Cajabamba
is located,
19 km
[12 miles]
south of present-day
Riobamba.
Eleven years
later a Spaniard,
Pedro de Cieza
de Leon, on
an epic 17-year
horseback
journey from
Colombia to
Bolivia, praised
the lodgings
at Riobamba
and wrote
of “beautiful
fair fields,
whose climate,
vegetation,
flowers and
other features
resemble those
of Spain.”
In 1797 a
huge landslide
devastated
the town killing
hundreds of
inhabitants.
The survivors
moved the
city to its
present location,
bringing their
cathedral
with them
which they
rebuilt brick
by brick.
In 1830 the
first Ecuadorean
constitutional
congress met
at Riobamba
and proclaimed
the Republic.
Several surviving
buildings,
including
the old cathedral
are sad memorials
to the city's
previous capital
status.
Last updated
26th July
2006
| |Article contributed by Dominic Hamilton||| |
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