Central Highlands - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 159

built upon the foundations of a Jesuit monastery. It also hosts a vari-
ety of activities during local celebrations.
Ambato
The first large city south of Latacunga (beyond San Miguel de
Salcedo) and the fourth-largest city in the country, is Ambato. The
capital of Tungurahua province, Ambato - known as the “City of
Flowers and Fruit” - is home to a bustling population of 150,000 and
counting. Originally the site of several pre-Incan indigenous groups,
Ambato became a permanent rest stop, or tambo , for people traveling
fromQuito to Cuenca during the reign of the Incan Empire. Upon ar-
rival in the first half of the 16th century, the Spanish built (and re-
built several times) a colonial town here, only to see it destroyed over