Investor's Dream in the Andes: Private Cuenca-Area Estate Featuring Restored Historic Hacienda, Spectacular Views, and Eco-Friendly Sustainable Living Possibilities.

Sitting on a quiet mountainside on a 3.2-hectare property, the ancient hacienda enjoys the views of a quiet pastoral valley, nearby villages, and three sacred mountains. The land has lain fallow for the past twenty-five years. No chemicals have been used on the land during that time, and none is used on or in the hacienda - which is partly the original adobe walls, some of which are more than three feet thick.

The hacienda has been lovingly restored, and a bright modern kitchen has been added. This has become the place where guests love to gather to watch the hummingbirds’ flit around the gardens and particularly hovering to collect nectar from the many Hibiscuses bloom year-round. During the restoration many of the antique features of the home have been preserved or restored to be like the original. Now more than 160 years old this peaceful 6000+ sq. ft home welcomes owners and guests into its many "retreats".

The property was purchased by the current owner in 2011. It now discretely has a WIFI system working via the electrical system and a monitored security system (the property and the house) installed and monitored by ATS Alta Tenologie. (ATS is the company used by all museums and banks in Ecuador.)

The property has three levels - with about one third of the land being on each of the three levels. The first level beside the road - a quiet country road with only local traffic and currently a dead-end street -is a pasture which could become a permaculture development or left as is with the neighbor's cows grazing or could be separately sold to a developer. Several inquiries have come in from companies desiring to build a hotel - there are none within ten miles. The owner has considered developing this lower land parcel as a dementia remediation center or for long term care for dementia clients from north America. It has many possible uses.

The hacienda is located on the second level via a flower lined 150-meter driveway. From the road one enters via a secured automatic gate which is controlled via a programmed fob or directly from the hacienda. The hacienda level of the property has been landscaped. A pond lies beneath the natural looking waterfall which not only circulates the pond water but also serves to catch the water from the upper property and direct it appropriately into the runoff dry stream beds. Also, on this level is the EcoSmarte swimming pool where no chemicals are used. Its copper and 02 system keeps the water sparklingly clean and even drinkable. With ease of entry system, the four-foot-deep pool allows one to exercise and play in the water or to relax while sitting poolside. It feels as though one is at a private beach with the palm trees and sand surrounding this area. The pergola offers place away from the sun.

This is another of the very peaceful places on the property to spend time with friends and family. And added to this level is a Zen Garden designed to provide a serene location for meditation. The raised gardens yield delicious organic produce from tomatoes to phytonutrient dense salad greens, kale, spinach and chard. The herbs love this area, and one can pick fresh asparagus for dinner or harvest carrots and beets instead. Everything that has been planted seems to love flourishing here.

The hacienda is surrounded by an expansive balcony offering many different areas to choose from for dining al fresco, quietly reading a book, or gathering with friends or business associates. A garden sink, a huge eco-septic system (totally out of sight), an underground sprinkler system for the gardens, an irrigation watering system (to use the water from the irrigation canal rather than city the property also has a complete electrical backup system with safe storage for gas and a generator for electricity. With every safety feature thought of, this system can run the entire house's needs for electricity should there be a need during any emergency. It ensures that the freezers and refrigerators continue to work, that water continues to be pumped into all areas of the house and one can power one's electronics and operate the lights as usual. Easy and safe to use, it lives in the smaller (near the parking area) shed called the "Genny house".

With so many places to get on to the balcony it made sense to include a permanent gentle ramp for handicapped access as well. Hence, one of the staircases for the double entry from the front patio was rebuilt to form this easy-to-use ramp and has been made to exactly match the exterior style.

Plenty of parking spaces have been included near the orchard and a cement drive path brings one up to the main entry if desired.

Upon entering you find yourself in the great room where expansive doors and windows allow you to take in the views and simultaneously enjoy the original fireplace (with new unseen chimney box). This expansive room is bright and cheery, and it retains all its original woodwork including around the fireplace (a protective covering was installed to prevent the old wooden beams used as the mantle from being heated by the fire). When desired the doors can open widely, making this a delightful place to entertain.

To the right of the great room, you enter the living room which occupies the full width of the house. The ceiling here is even higher than elsewhere and over this room there is a beautiful wooden bridge which allows you to move freely between the two upper suites. The lighting is both indirect and from electric candelabra (modern versions). The room has several niches for displaying special items and has as well loft areas where collections might be displayed. The living room leads one into a den /sunroom another place to play games, read books, relax with friends and have tea. From here you arrive at the three welcoming bedroom suites, each with its own complete-safely equipped bathroom. These rooms have special heating units, each being gas fired. The gas tanks are safely housed on the exterior of the home, although you can turn the heaters on and regulate the heat from inside. Each room can easily contain a king-sized bed and still have a generous sitting area. Free standing closets and bookcases to match the décor have been added. These currently hide the antique doors leading to the balcony however, each one can be moved elsewhere in the room if this exit is desired. New lighting makes the spaces more inviting.

Coming back to the great room you enter the dining room directly or go via the butler's pantry (off the kitchen) to enjoy the antique copper ceiling and the exposed beams in the adobe walls. Easily handling a table for twelve, this room offers a beautiful place to linger over dinners with friends and family.

The original kitchen is now the butler's pantry and leads into the bright modern kitchen with a full working pantry hidden behind it (with its own sink and food and cooking equipment storage). With all modern conveniences and surrounding windows, the kitchen always finds guests wandering in and staying. The pleasant cooking aromas and the large windows are quite inviting.

Upstairs the landings provide perfect areas for creating a library. First you arrive at the original master suite. With a generous walk-in closet and a huge bathroom. This suite has lovely views with plenty of sunshine and makes a perfect retreat for the owner. Leaving this room, you cross the bridge and find a complete washroom and separate rooms - one which houses the laundry and one which is really two rooms where storage of linens, foods, and other items are kept. There are also quaint hiding spaces accessed through small secure doors where items such as luggage, seasonal decorations and such are stored.

Lastly you enter the second upstairs suite. A quaint area with a sitting or office space and a sleeping nook, this room has beautiful views from its dormer windows and has a huge, secure walk-in closet. Really a quiet private space to make into an office or a guest suite.

The redesign of the attic space has provided storage areas not usually found in older homes. The openness of the entire home is pleasantly inviting. All services are available - electric, fiber optic internet, municipal water and direct tv if desired. The property rights give river water access to the entire property on a forever basis. The UNAE (University Nacional de Educacion) is already occupied even while the remainder of the campus is being constructed - close by but around the corner so we are not on campus.

There is a bridge being built one property over from the hacienda property which will serve a few homes on this dead-end street allowing us to quickly access the main highway and the autopista. The property is currently twenty minutes from the center of Cuenca and twelve minutes from the capital city of Canar providence, Azogues. It is less than 16 minutes over our current road (shorter when the bridge is built) to a state-of-the-art 24/7 emergency room at the Hospital del Rio.

The third level has not yet been developed. It has a driveway - which could be improved - but a car can easily drive up. Here drainage has been guided to flow into the waterfall area and the land has an awesome view. It really has two levels the lower one overlooks the area and would be truly suitable for a gazebo surrounded by gardens. The upper portion is large. It can be turned into a large green house production area as the supports to build this are already in place. It could be an excellent location for a large private home as from here you do not see the hacienda below just the delightful vistas of the valley. Or it could be used to build several beautiful condominiums or developed as you see fit.

As an aside, this land has a healing energy that almost everyone who arrives remarks upon even if they never thought of healing energy before. It is also good Feng shui as it has a mountain behind and a river in front and no poison arrows.