The hacienda's core ethos is to welcome guests as part of their family during one's stay. Guests live in the rooms that family members grew up in and return to, experience the personalized service at their antique dining table, and hear the funny (and sometimes hair-raising) stories of the past as one sits by the fireside. Visitors ride the horses bred here across generations, walk the lanes laid down by Galo Plaza Lasso, eat from the gardens his wife lovingly created, and explore the community they helped forge together with the local people. For as long as one is there, Zuleta is your home and you help to preserve it - house, community, and environment - for generations to come!
Located in the heart of Ecuador's Avenue of Volcanoes, Hacienda Zuleta is a jewel in the heart of the Andes, and commands breathtaking views from every side. Blessed with this equatorial location, the climate at the hacienda is temperate year round. Days are often bright and warm with occasional spring-like showers from December to June. July to September is normally dry and hot, with excellent views of the surrounding mountains. October and November can vary. Nights tend to be crisp and skies star-studded, perfect for a glass of wine by the fireside or a bonfire party.
Full of history, from mysterious pre-Inca mounds to colonial Spanish roots, as well as the home of two former presidents of Ecuador, Hacienda Zuleta is the perfect place to immerse oneself in Ecuadorean culture and traditions.
An important location for centuries, Zuleta is one of the two best-preserved mound sites of the ancient Caranqui people in Ecuador; the area was later settled by the Incas and then the Spanish. It is a living reflection of the region's history, starting out as a refuge from volcanoes, a ceremonial location for Caranqui chiefs, and a rich agricultural resource for the conquering Incas and Spanish. Today, Hacienda Zuleta's staff carry on the legacy of former president Galo Plaza Lasso and his family, who joined liberal ideals with economic advances to build a community that combines pride in its indigenous past with future-oriented innovations.
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