The old Riobamba was originally situated almost 20 miles west from Riobamba Nueve, where the village of Cajabamba is currently situated. It was a magnificent city – the capital of the Kingdom of Puruha with a whopping 40,000 inhabitants. For… více
The old Riobamba was originally situated almost 20 miles west from Riobamba Nueve, where the village of Cajabamba is currently situated. It was a magnificent city – the capital of the Kingdom of Puruha with a whopping 40,000 inhabitants. For the first time it was destroyed in 1533 during the conquest of Incas as Ruminiahui retreated to escape from Benalcazar. Then in 1797 a monstrous earthquake destroyed the city completely – it had around 9,000 inhabitants around that time and only 400 survived to tell the awful story of the rumbling earth. The city was officially established in 1534 but as I mentioned it had a large Puruha city originally.
That part of Andes is still seismically active and you can experience small quakes around Riobamba and Cajabamba, however, no major earthquake has struck the region since 1797.
Riobamba is a historically important place. When Ecuador was established, the city hosted the first national Ecuadorian convention in 1830. During the 30 year period since relocation, the city had outgrown its original population and by 1835 stood at 20,000. It is a birth place of many important Ecuadorian figures – historian Velasco and writers Orozco and Larrea amongst others.
It is possible to get to Riobamba by rail. Riobamba sits on the railroad from Quito to Guayaquil. If you want to see the old ruins, you can alight at Cajabamba, which is on the same line. The rail station has had a recent makeover. In 2007 after a huge investment of $50,000 the station is as modern as any large stations and offering tourist information to tens of thousands of tourists visiting Riobamba every year