Museo del Pueblo Salasaca

Central Highlands

LoginSave

If you're interested in indigenous culture, a look around this museum is well worth your time. However the exhibits, spread over five floors, require some explanation; recommended guided tours are offered in Spanish. The museum is opposite the artisan market on the Ambato to Baños road.

Handmade life-size human figures and recreations of traditional dwellings are arranged to depict the unique cultural traditions of the people of Salasaca, including their musical instruments, festivities, spiritual beliefs, ceremonies and clothing.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Quinta de Juan León Mera

    Quinta de Juan León Mera

    7.11 MILES

    Several famous ambateños (people from Ambato) had quintas that survived the earthquake. They were once considered countryside homes, but today they are…

  • Museo de Arte Religioso

    Museo de Arte Religioso

    24.5 MILES

    Inside the beautifully restored 18th-century convent, Riobamba’s top museum houses one of the country’s finest collections of 17th- and 18th-century…

  • Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo

    Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo

    23.75 MILES

    Volcán Chimborazo and Volcán Carihuairazo are both within the Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo. It is called a ‘fauna-production reserve’ because…

  • Pailón del Diablo

    Pailón del Diablo

    20.28 MILES

    The Devil's Cauldron is a must-stop. There are two terrific trails from Río Verde that take you here. The first is accessed from below the soccer field,…

  • Museo Provincial Casa del Portal

    Museo Provincial Casa del Portal

    6.43 MILES

    This majestic home was built in 1900 and now houses Ambato's best museum. There are tons of interesting historic photos on the 1st floor. Head up to the…

  • Casa y Mausoleo de Montalvo

    Casa y Mausoleo de Montalvo

    6.5 MILES

    On the northwest side of Parque Juan Montalvo is this museum in Montalvo’s pied-à-terre; the grand mausoleum in which the writer is interred is on the…

  • Casa del Arbol

    Casa del Arbol

    12.39 MILES

    Perched on a hilltop behind Baños, just beyond the village of Runtún, this grassy viewpoint is a photographer's dream. As well as a pretty tree house,…

  • Quinta de Juan Montalvo

    Quinta de Juan Montalvo

    6.75 MILES

    This 200-year-old house was the countryside retreat of writer Juan Montalvo, the ‘Cervantes of America.’ There’s a tiny but well-put-together museum…

View more attractions

Nearby Central Highlands attractions

1. Crafts Market

0.03 MILES

Next to the church on the Ambato–Baños road, behind a statue of a local man donning a black poncho, this market has some great local artisan goods,…

2. Museo Provincial Casa del Portal

6.43 MILES

This majestic home was built in 1900 and now houses Ambato's best museum. There are tons of interesting historic photos on the 1st floor. Head up to the…

3. Museo de Ciencias Naturales

6.47 MILES

Although a bit dusty, this natural history museum in the Colegio Bolívar houses Ecuador’s most thorough collection of stuffed birds, mammals and reptiles…

5. Cathedral

6.49 MILES

Ambato once had an old cathedral, but it was destroyed along with the rest of the city by the 1947 earthquake. Many people consider the replacement temple…

6. Casa y Mausoleo de Montalvo

6.5 MILES

On the northwest side of Parque Juan Montalvo is this museum in Montalvo’s pied-à-terre; the grand mausoleum in which the writer is interred is on the…

7. Museo de Arte de la Casa de la Cultura

6.51 MILES

Featuring an excellent collection of Ecuadorian oils and acrylics from the 18th through 21st centuries, this fun little museum takes just 10 minutes to…

8. Quinta de Juan Montalvo

6.75 MILES

This 200-year-old house was the countryside retreat of writer Juan Montalvo, the ‘Cervantes of America.’ There’s a tiny but well-put-together museum…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "ecuador/salasaca/attractions/museo-del-pueblo-salasaca/a/poi-sig/1585185/1329989",
  "destination": "Central-Highlands",
  "continent": "South-America",
  "country": "Ecuador",
  "region": "Central-Highlands",
  "position": "superzone"
}