Loja is a provinces in Ecuador and shares its southern border in the west by El Oro Province, in the north by El Azuay, and the east by Zamora-Chinchipe.
Founded on its present site in 1548 by Captain Alonso de Mercadillo (Spanish) the site had been previously moved and rebuilt from La Toma due to earthquakes. It is also called Cuxibamba Valley which means "Smily valley".
Located in a high Andean valley at an elevation of 7,300 feet (2,225 meters) and Loja is recognized as being a friendly and pleasant city. This was demonstrated when Loja, both the capital and one of the oldest cities in Ecuador, won a community involvement award in 2001 in recognition of the communities ongoing effort to support and to protect the environment.
Surrounded by two rivers the Zamora and malacatos, Loja has for a variety of micro-climates resulting in numerous ecological zones due to its unique position. Located between the humid Amazon basin and coastal sechura desert in Peru the environment comprises paramo, cloud forest, and jungle landscapes. 86% of the province is hilly or mountainous.
Historical buildings and colonial architecture make the city of Loja a popular tourist attraction. Loja is famous for religious festivals and musicians. The city is commonly referred to as the ‘music capital of Ecuador and has many mucical academies. In addition there are also two universities; Universidad Tecnica Particular De Loja, and Universidad Nacional de Loja.
Just south of Loja (42 km) is Vilcabamba which is known as the Valley of Longevity. Inhabitants here enjoy an ideal climate and local hot springs. Researchers and scientists have studied this town to explain why its inhabitants live so long. Geographical conditions, climate, soil, and water quality are part of the explanation and there have been some intersting articles from Readers Digest and National Geographic about this. Loja is credited to have been the first city in Ecuador to have electricity which was supplied to the city by the introduction of a Hydroelectricity dam completed in 1896.
A lot of investment has been made recently in the cochinilla farms that provide commodities for the both the textile and cosmetic industries. La Toma historically has provided for many sugar plantations, and where commodities such as sugar, coffee are not often grown to be exported internationally like cochinilla, but instead brought and sold nationally.
Loja has also seen its fair share of mining predominately gold which has consequently caused damage to the environment.
Loja is also famous for plants, birds, and butterflies. Podocarpus National Parks covers an areas of 146,300 hectares and has a range of elevations from 1000m to 3690m. The park contain bears and pumas as well as exotic birdlife. Over 40% of the parks 3,000-4,000 plant species are endemic to this area. There is also in excess of 600 species of birds.
The province is divided in 16 cantons.
Canton (Capital)
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