Last updated on December 19, 2023.

When traveling between Colombia and Ecuador by bus, you’ll probably have to stop in the border town of Tulcán. It may not seem very exciting at first glance, but it’s worth stopping for an hour to check out a very interesting cemetery.

 

Tulcán Cemetery

You can’t miss the Tulcán Cemetery (Cementerio de Tulcán). In 1936, Don José María Azael Franco Guerrero turned the cemetery into a topiary garden featuring pre-Columbian figures, animals, and geometric patterns. He died in 1985 at the age of 85, but the tradition has been carried on well after his death to this day. The cemetery is just a few blocks from the center of town at Parque Isidro Ayora. It’s open from 6am to 8pm daily.

Cementerio de Tulcán in Ecuador
Tulcán Cemetery
Cementerio de Tulcán in Ecuador
Tulcán Cemetery
Cementerio de Tulcán in Ecuador
Topiaries at the Tulcán Cemetery
Cementerio de Tulcán in Ecuador
A path in the Tulcán Cemetery

 

Cultural Center

The Cultural Center (Casa de la Cultura) holds a small archaeological museum. It’s a couple blocks from the cemetery. It was closed during our visit.

Casa de la Cultura in Tulcán, Ecuador
Cultural Center

 

Parque Isidro Ayora

If coming to Tulcán after crossing the border from Colombia, the first place you’ll see is the center of town at Parque Isidro Ayora. From there, everything you need to see is within a couple blocks.

Parque Isidro Ayora in Tulcán, Ecuador
Parque Isidro Ayora

 

Getting There

The Tulcán bus terminal is located a short taxi ride from town. It serves cities like Quito (5 hours), Ibarra (2 ½ hours), Otavalo (3 hours). From the Colombian border, you can get into the center of town by taking a minibus to Parque Isidro Ayora. It’s then necessary to take another minibus or taxi to the bus terminal for onward travel. Alternatively, you can take a taxi to the center of Tulcán or directly to the bus terminal.

If traveling south from Tulcán, avoid Expreso Turismo at all costs – service was rude, they wouldn’t let us get off the bus after three hours to use the bathroom, and they stopped way too many times, making the trip to Otavalo almost 90 minutes longer than it should’ve been. They also didn’t bother to let us know when we were in Otavalo even though we asked them to tell us at least three times. They almost passed up the city completely, and when they let us off the bus they took our bags out of the luggage compartment and threw them onto the ground.

 

Hotels

If you need a hotel in Tulcán, there are plenty of affordable options. Some are by the bus terminal and others in the center of town. We stayed at the Hotel Lumar in the center.

 

Restaurants

There are lots of restaurants in the center of town and near the bus terminal as well. We were more than happy with street food near our hotel in a small plaza.

Author

Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.