Pumapungo Museum

Ecuador Azuay CuencaPumapungo Museum

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Address

Calle Larga 182, Cuenca 010107, Ecuador

Map

Phone

+593 7-283-1521

Call

Website

culturaypatrimonio.gob.ec

Visit

Overview

cultural

accessibility

Description

The Pumapungo Museum is an ethnographic and art museum in Cuenca, Ecuador.

UPDATE: Three years after first visiting Pumapungo, one week after visiting the ruins at Ingapirca, I returned to Pumapungo. The site is bigger and better than I had remembered, more developed with respect to the avians, and without question far superior to Ingapirca. If you are in the market for ruinas y más, enjoy Pumapungo free and at your leisure. Only go to Ingapirca if you are in the market for a really long bus ride to and from a tourist trap which takes your money and expressly FORBIDS you from enjoying the ruins at your leisure. God dang you, Ingapirca people; God bless you, Pumapungo peeps. ORIGINAL: The indoor museum is pretty small but pretty cool. There is an excellent mural on the wall, a variety of ancient artifacts displayed on the other walls, and a super cute exhibit of the region's history told through miniatures or diorama type setups replete with terrain, structures, and little figurines going about daily life in different historical periods. As a budding miniaturist architect myself (take me down to Tiny Town), I sure enjoyed this playful little representations of the past. But the best part of the museum is the outdoor area. There are ancient ruins, llamas you can walk right up to, big birds (sadly) trapped in small cages, beautiful garden areas, little sitting places, a little pond with some ducks in it, good views of the city. It's a really lovely place to spend a couple hours. There's no entrance fee, either, so there's no reason not to go to Pumapungo! It's good, dog.

Nomad NateNomad Nate

20

Although a bit out of the way, Pumapungo should be high on your list of things to do in Cuenca. Entry is free - just sign in at the entrance. This is one of the most extensive historical/cultural museums in Cuenca. Make sure you explore the different floors, which include exhibits on art, money, culture and clothing of the indigenous tribes, and even shrunken heads. Although you may not need to spend a ton of time there, the museum is definitely worth a walk through. But that's not all. Between the museum and the orchestra building, you can pass to the back side of Pumapungo to visit the hillside Cañari ruins and park. This was apparently a sacred site for this powerful tribe. Although no full structures have been preserved, you can see the outline of their buildings and terraced agriculture, an underground cave, and water system. As you continue down the hill, you'll find a large display garden of the many local crops and native plants. There is also a small outdoor aviary with stunning birds from the region as well as a few llamas on the hillside. (The lower gate to the riverwalk is no longer open so you will need to hike a short hill to enter and exit.) For more recommendations on what to do in and around Cuenca, find our blog posts by searching: "Intentional Travelers Cuenca"

Intentional TravelersIntentional Travelers

40

The building undersells the museum. It's an ugly concrete structure with a state run vibe. But once you get inside, you'll find vibrant exhibits with lots of archeological pieces dated as back as 12,000 years BC! The ground floor has ceramic pottery, sculptures and instruments as well as metal pieces from different cultures and ages. There is a broken rock statue that you're encouraged to help restore. Fantastic puzzle for the kids. The upper floor is where the ethnic exhibits are located. Make sure you get to the tzantsas or shrinken heads. The backyard is a gem: actual Incan stone structures right in the middle of the city without having to drive almost 2 hours to the Ingapirca site. You'll also walk through beautiful gardens and visit several bird species.

Pablo MoysamPablo Moysam

00

Es considerado uno de los más importantes que tiene el país y la ciudad de Cuenca. Pumapungo o ‘Puerta del puma’ es un testimonio tangible de la cultura cañari-inca que nos deja ver su organización social y política durante el incario y que pasó por el territorio ecuatoriano. El museo alberga una gran colección de objetos etnográficos entre los que se incluyen atuendos diarios y festivos, viviendas a escala y objetos representativos que dan cuenta de las formas de vida, las creencias, los ritos y los símbolos de nuestros pueblos. Existe también una sala de iconografía de arte Barroco del siglo XVIII, paisaje y costumbrismo del XIX. El complejo cuenta con un parque botánico y un centro de avifauna que acoge especies liberadas del cautiverio y que son muy bien cuidadas. Según su director, Jonathan Koupermann, es el Ministerio de Cultura el encargado de dar el apoyo para la protección de este sitio, donde turistas nacionales y extranjeros llegan para admirar nuestra cultura. Las puertas se abren al público a partir de las 8:00 hasta las 19:00. Posee personal capacitado para realizar las explicaciones pertinentes y transmitir al público la información adecuada. En su interior encontramos la sala interactiva Arqueología Tomebamba: donde se pueden ver las diferentes culturas que se asentaron en la región, con hincapié en los hallazgos encontrados en la antigua ciudad de Tomebamba. También se encuentra en el sitio el parque donde están las ruinas de Pumapungo y que es visitado por miles de turistas todos los años. Un recorrido por este sitio le toma al visitante no menos de una hora, allí podrán encontrar vestigios arqueológicos y en la parte baja todo tipo de plantas medicinales, incluso las que están en proceso de desaparición, como “orejas de burro”, la borraja, la flor de violeta muy buena para la tos

Daniela LemaDaniela Lema

10

Incredible! I only had two hours. Had gone through the ethnography exhibit upstairs on a previous visit. Spent too much time looking at the money exhibit on the ground floor. Had no idea how much there was outside, so just raced through less than a quarter of the rest before closing. Besides the ruins there are an extensive ethnobotanical garden and an aviary. Signing included barcodes for your phone to read for more info. If you have bad knees like me it wouldn't hurt to bring your walking sticks. I had the luck of visiting on a gorgeous day! And all this for FREE.

Leslie BLeslie B

00

Great free museum with interesting installations including one on textiles (as of Jan 23). Would recommend doing the Aboriginal Archeology museum (Calle Larga as well so 5 minute walk) before Pumapungo as they have more detailed information albeit less curated which would have given me more background if I'd have done it that way around! The gardens outside are well worth a half an hour stroll with lovely views back up to the archeological site. Spent a solid 3 hours here and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jenny SmithJenny Smith

00