Gualaceo

Gualaceo, nicknamed "El Jardin Del Azuay", is a canton in the south-central region of Ecuador. It belongs to Azuay Province, Ecuador. Its population is 42.000 inhabitants according to the official website visitagualaceo.com.The origin of its name is debatable. Some historians affirm that the name comes from the Chibcha word “gualaca” meaning macaw’s settlement, while others state that it was named after a mythological Cañari Indian named Gualaco or Gualaca, but both coincide in its meaning “macaw’s settlement”.DemographicsEthnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010: Mestizo 88.2%Indigenous 5.4%White 4.0%Afro-Ecuadorian 2.0%Montubio 0.2%Other 0.2%OverviewGualaceo is a sizable town located in a valley in the southeast of the Ecuadorian Andes cordillera, and about 20 miles east of the province capital Cuenca; its altitude is 2.449 meters. The valley of Gualaceo is crossed by the Santa Barbara River and its 3 smaller tributaries the San Francisco, San Jose y Guaymincay, creating a beautiful riverfront scenery; their waters are still clean enough that swimmers can be observed virtually every day.