Cuenca is Ecuador's third largest city (after Guayaquil and Quito) and is the capital of Azuay province in the south, near Ecuador's disputed border with Peru. At altitude 2,550 m/8,366 ft, it is one of the world's highest large cities. Current population is about 400,000. The region has been inhabited since at least 8000 BC and for 3,000 years was ruled by the Cañari and Incas. The latter named their capital Tomebamba, which because of its riches some think was the mythical city of El Dorado. The Spaniards conquered the Incas and founded Santa Ana De Los Cuatro Ríos De Cuenca in 1557. (The city is traversed by four rivers: see map.) Because of its relatively remote location, Cuenca did not develop like other Ecuadorian cities and has retained much of its colonial architecture and style. UNESCO declared its historic center a World Heritage Site in 1999. Cuenca was not reached by railroad or paved highway until the 1960s and never before had a street railway. Today it is building the Tranvía de Los Cuatro Ríos – the Tramway of the Four Rivers, which will be the highest street railway in the world:

Plans for a tramway in Cuenca were first reported in an Informe of its municipal government in 2009. In 2010 it engaged Artelia of France for studies and in 2013 signed a contract with Alstom of France to build a 10.3 km electric tram line between the city's north and south sides [see map]. Alstom supplied fourteen 5-car 108-ft/33-m 300-passenger Citadis model 302 trams, which will use APS (Alimentation Par le Sol), rather than overhead wires, on the narrow streets of the historic center.