Hacienda Guachalá, Spanish Colonial estate in Cayambe, Ecuador

Hacienda Guachalá is a colonial estate near Cayambe whose oldest buildings date from 1580. Its adobe walls, wooden beams and clay tile roofs are arranged around courtyards, and the complex includes a chapel and a former textile workshop. It operated as a working farm for centuries and has been open as a hostel and historic site since 1993.

The first church was built around 1585, when the Cayambe encomienda passed to the Spanish Crown and Martín de Aizaga received 100 caballerizas (about 1,100 ha) in Guachalá. In 1647 Francisco de Villacís paid the Crown 300 ounces of silver for the titles to Guachalá and Perugachi. Antonio de Ormaza y Ponce de León unified Guachalá with Pambamarca in 1697 and obtained a textile workshop licence in 1698, exporting cloth to Lima, Bogotá and Spain.

The hacienda's name comes from the cacique Francisco Cacuango Guachalá, who led the mitimaes of Guachalá in the 16th century. The first church was built around 1585, when the Cayambe encomienda passed to the Spanish Crown. Today the estate operates as a hostería and historic site open to the public, converted in 1993.

The site is accessible from Cayambe and operates as a hotel offering lodging within the colonial buildings. Plan time to walk through the courtyards and chapel areas to appreciate the spatial layout and construction details.

The nearby Cerro Pambamarca served as a reference point for the French Geodesic Mission during their measurements. This made the area a key location for mapping South America.