There are many good places to buy local wares which include embroidered blouses, natural sheep wool sweaters, gold and silver filigree jewelry and weavings with tie-dyed patterns called ikat. Crafts, as well as fresh produce, are also on sale at the weekly Thursday market which is held around 9 de Octubre and 10 de Agosto squares. In Cuenca and the surrounding area, hats are a leading cottage industry and several factories are open to visitors. The most famous one, of course, is the so-called Panama hat, first made in Montecristi, Ecuador, during the construction of the Panama Canal and sent north to the workers. Nowadays, Cuenca s the leading production center for straw hats.
Visitors have even more fun taking excursions to the nearby villages that produce handmade crafts.
It is a full and fascinating day's trip from Cuenca to the massive fortifications of Ingapirca rising above the dramatically beautiful valleys. This is the only remaining major monument of the Inca empire which ruled here for several hundred year before the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. It is believed today that Ingapirca was both a religious and administrative center. The complex was built by the Incas on top of an old Caiiari settlement. En route to Ingapirrca are the towns of Azogues, with its lovely church and Saturday straw market, and Biblian.