The Orchid Man

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On the outskirts of Cuenca there is a small building that is part of the university, but it is not connected. The small building costs $1 to get in and allows you to look at up to 400 species of orchids. Not all of the orchids were in bloom when we went, but it was still an amazing sight to see. There are three or four different greenhouses that you can enter and look at some of the most amazing orchids in all of Ecuador. In fact, all 400 species he has are found naturally in Cuenca. The man who runs the greenhouses was nice enough to give us a personal tour. He told us the names in Spanish and tried to help us translate some of the names to English. He calls a few of the orchids “monkey face” and they literally look like a monkey’s face. Although this was not the easiest place to find, I think it is one of the most beautiful places inside of Cuenca city limits. I personally think that it is worth a look.

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