Cumbayá

This article is about a town in Ecuador. For the song of the same name, see Cumbayá (song).

Not to be confused with Kumbaya, a song.

Cumbayá
—  Rural parish  —
San Pedro de Cumbayá
Cumbayá
Coordinates: 0°12′0″S 78°26′0″W / 0.2°S 78.433333°W / -0.2; -78.433333Coordinates: 0°12′0″S 78°26′0″W / 0.2°S 78.433333°W / -0.2; -78.433333
Country	Ecuador
Province	Pichincha
Canton	Quito
Foundation	June 29, 1571
Parish seat	Cumbayá
Government
- Type	Parochial Junta
- President	Humberto Carreño
- Vice-President	Washington Morales
- First Member	Lucía Landivar
- Second Member	Teresa Chinchero
- Third Member	Sonia Chuquimarca
Area
- Metro	4,204 km2 (1,623.2 sq mi)
Elevationapprox.	2,200 m (7,218 ft)
Population estimate
- Rural parish	30,000
- Metro	1,839,853
- Metro density	437.6/km2 (1,133.5/sq mi)
Time zone	ECT (UTC-5)
Postal Code	EC170157
Area code(s)	(0)2
Website	joyasdequito.com

Cumbayá is a rural parish of the Metropolitan District of Quito in the Pichincha Province, Ecuador. It is located east of Quito, in the Tumbaco Valley northwest of Ilaló volcano, in the valley of the San Pedro River, a tributary of the Guayllabamba River, at an elevation of approximately 2200 m (7200 ft) above sea level. Because it is at a lower altitude than Quito, it has a warmer climate (about 2 to 5 degrees Celsius higher on average).

In recent years, the parish has become a commuter town of Quito as a significant number of middle-upper and higher class families move from the city to live a more suburban lifestyle. This shift in population has brought in money to the area that boosted the local economy, as well as a number of private schools that are either new or transplanted from Quito, such as Colegio Alemán, Colegio Internacional SEK Los Valles, William Shakespeare School, Colegio Terranova, and CMSFQ (Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito), among others.

It is also the home of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, the first private and non-denominational university in Ecuador.

Examples of architecture drawing from the area's rural beginnings include the Iglesia de Cumbayá in the Main Square and the Iglesia de Miravalle built in 1987. Modern examples include the Rancho San Francisco complex, La Esquina, Centro Plaza, and Villa Cumbayá shopping centers, among new office blocks.

The Túnel Oswaldo Guayasamín, the longest vehicular tunnel in Ecuador at 1.5km in length, connects the parish with the Iñaquito urban parish of the city of Quito.

In 2004, the Chaquiñán rail trail from Cumbayá 20km to the northeast ending in the parish of Puembo was re-opened. [1]