Province Bolívar
Bolivar is a province of central Ecuador, in the western range of the Andes. Its capital is the city of Guaranda. The Province of Bolivar is named in honor of Simon Bolivar. It has 178.000 inhabitants and an area of 3,254 km², making it one of the smallest provinces of Ecuador. You have no elevations, except the Chimborazo Volcano which is partly in this province and actually the highest active volcano in the world with 6.268 meters above sealevel. The average temperature is about 13ºC and the climate changes between cold pármao and warm subtropical zones.
Bolívar is divided into 7 cantons: Caluma, Chillanes, Chimbo, Echeandía, Guaranda, Las Naves and San Miguel. Its capital Guaranda is famous for its carneval in the period of February-March. It is also called "the Rome of Ecuador" because it was built on seven hills. It was founded by the Spanish in 1571. Another city of these region worth a visit for is Salinas de Guaranda. Famous for its brand of Cheeses called Salinerito (considered the country's premium range) as well as wool spinning and dye mills. Salinas de Guaranda is just 40 minutes by car from Guaranda.
Typical dishes of Bolívar are: Sancocho (a soup made with sheep or pork meat), the potatoes cake, bread of All Souls Day (guaguatanda) and the famous "Salinas cheese" in Salinas de Guaranda.