Loja is one of the southernmost cities in Ecuador, known for it’s university, 
fantastic musicians and cultural arts. A little short on time this trip, we opted for a flight from Guayaquil to Loja (en route to Vilcabamba first), rather than the bus. An easy 50 minute flight that arrived in 40 minutes was approximately US $59 with the taxes. However, the tiny “Loja” airport is actually located 45 minutes outside of Loja, in a town called Catamayo. The taxi ride to Loja will run $20. If on the way to Vilcabamba, ask the taxi driver to take you from the airport to “Taxi Ruta at Once de Mayo.” From there, you can hop into a shared cab for only $1.75 each for the next 45 minute ride to Vilcabamba.
While Loja is a fairly spread out city of notable size, the walk along Simon Bolivar through the various plazas are among the most scenic. Clean little town squares with old churches, monuments, and a few cafes and various shops with a laid back atmosphere. Zig zag through the indoor market for a colorful array of fruits, vegetables and other items. The corn in Ecuador has the largest kernels I have ever seen. Make sure to extend the walk in both directions, to not only see the colorful and ornate entrance to Loja, with a large market on one side, but to see the small but colorful colonial cobblestone street Lourdes. Good luck getting a picture without cars anytime during the day. Going in the opposite direction along the river past the Entrance to Loja is Parque Jipiro, with mini monuments representative of different locations throughout the world, mini-rides, trails and some animals for the children to enjoy.
While not much is found on-line in the way of hotels or hostels for lodging, there are a few places right in and around the central plaza. We visited two, both clean, with friendly service at the desk. Rates for both were equally $10 per person per night. There are others as well within short walking distance (a few blocks). However a photographer acquaintance had stayed at the Hostal Central Park and was content. The hostel does not currently have a web site. The other, Las Orquideas, was right in the the vicinity as well. The entrance was clean, however we did not visit the rooms. Las Orquideas does not have a web site either, however does have an on-line presence and mixed reviews, etc. are readily available on Trip Advisor and other sites. There are a few mainstream chain hotels and other locally owned that can be found on-line as well.
