Santa Ana de Los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca commonly referred to as simply Cuenca is the capital and largest city of the Azuay Province of Ecuador. Cuenca is located in the highlands of Ecuador at about 2,560 meters (8,400 feet) above sea level, with an urban population of approximately 400,000 and 700,000 inhabitants in the larger metropolitan area. The center of the city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its many historical buildings.
Cuenca features a subtropical highland climate (Cfb) under the Köppen climate classification. Like the rest of the Ecuadorian Andes, Cuenca enjoys a mild climate year-round. Days are generally warm and nights are cool enough that sweaters or jackets are usually desired. The average daily temperature is 14.7 °C (58.5 °F). There are two seasons: rainy and dry. The dry season, with some variation, falls between June and December. The rainy season, which is characterized by bright sunny mornings and afternoon showers, falls between January and May. The heaviest rains come in the Invierno (wet season) of March, April and May.
The airport, named Aeropuerto Mariscal Lamar (Mariscal Lamar International Airport), is due east of the Terminal Terrestre (bus station) on Avenida España. It's a 5-minute walk from the bus station. Four airlines currently serve Cuenca; AeroGal, LAN Ecuador, and TAME fly to Quito daily while Línea Aérea Cuencana (no longer operating as of November 2013) and TAME fly to Guayaquil. This is Ecuador's third busiest airport. Over 1,400,000 passengers a year pass through its gates.