Quito is the capital of Ecuador and the second-highest capital city in the world at 2,850 metres above sea level (after La Paz/Sucre in Bolivia) — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978 (one of the first two in the world, jointly declared with Kraków, Poland) for its extraordinary colonial historic centre, the largest, best-preserved and least-altered colonial city centre in Latin America. The city sits in a mountain valley surrounded by volcanoes: Pichincha (4,784 m, an active stratovolcano whose 1999 eruption deposited ash on the city), Cotopaxi (5,897 m, 70 km south, one of the world's highest active volcanoes), and the Antisana (5,753 m, 50 km east); the altitude means Quito has a perpetual spring climate of 14-18°C year-round (the "city of eternal spring") with intense UV radiation due to proximity to the equator. The Old Town (Centro Histórico, 320 hectares, 130 buildings of architectural merit) has the most complete ensemble of colonial religious architecture in the Americas — the Compañía de Jesús church (1765, the most ornate Baroque church in the Americas, with an estimated 7 tonnes of gold leaf on its interior surfaces), the Plaza Grande (the central square with the Presidential Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace in pristine colonial form), and the 45 churches and convents of the historic centre. Quito was the northern capital of the Inca Empire (Tahuantinsuyo) before Spanish conquest (1534 by Sebastián de Benalcázar) — the Inca city was destroyed and built over by the Spanish, but the Museo del Banco Central has the finest pre-Columbian gold collection in Ecuador showing the Inca, Manteño and Valdivia cultures. The Middle of the World monument (Ciudad Mitad del Mundo) — the equator line 20 km north of the city — is one of the most visited tourist sites in South America.
The Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia, Quito) is the finest colonial square in the Americas — surrounded by the Presidential Palace (Palacio de Carondelet, 1574, with free public access to the internal courtyard and ceremonial rooms Monday-Friday), the Metropolitan Cathedral (1562, the oldest cathedral in South America, with the tomb of Sucre, the liberator of Quito), the Archbishop's Palace and the City Hall; the square is where Quito's independence was declared on August 10, 1809.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLa Compañía de Jesús (1765, 160 years to build, the Jesuit church of Quito) is the most ornate Baroque church in the Americas — an estimated 7 tonnes of gold leaf cover every surface of the interior (the altars, the columns, the vaulted ceiling, the side chapels) creating a total gold-leaf environment unmatched in the Western Hemisphere; the façade is a masterpiece of Andean Baroque (Churrigueresque style merged with indigenous Quiteño carving motifs — called the Quito School of Art) with 5 tiers of ornamented stone sculpture.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Monastery of San Francisco (1537, the oldest building in South America, a Franciscan complex covering 3 hectares — comparable to 3 city blocks — with the first school, hospital and garden in South America) has the San Francisco Church (the second-most ornate colonial interior in Quito after the Compañía), the Museo Fray Pedro Gocial (Quiteño School religious painting collection — polychrome carved saints with real human hair and glass eyes) and the cloister with the oldest garden in the Americas.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideEl Panecillo (the Bread Loaf Hill, 200 m above the old city, accessible by taxi or a 30-min hike) has the 41-metre aluminium Virgin of Quito statue (1976, the largest aluminium statue in the world, a replica of the Virgin carved by Bernardo de Legarda in 1734 that is in the San Francisco Church — the winged Virgin standing on a serpent, the distinctive symbol of Quito) with the panorama of the colonial city below and the volcanoes surrounding the valley.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLa Ronda (Calle Morales, the oldest street in Quito, cobblestoned, 18th-century colonial houses now converted to restaurants, craft workshops and bars) is the most atmospheric evening destination in the Centro Histórico — canelazo (the Andean hot drink: aguardiente cane spirit with cinnamon, naranjilla fruit and sugar, served in a ceramic mug, the quintessential Quito cold-evening drink) and locro de papa (potato and cheese soup with avocado and ají chilli, the national soup of Ecuador).
The Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City, 20 km north, 30 min by bus) has the yellow equatorial line crossing the tourist complex — the monument (30 m tower, 1982) marks the 1736 French Geodesic Mission measurement of the equatorial circumference; the adjacent Museo Intiñan (a more accurate GPS-verified equator 240 m north) does the famous experiments: balancing an egg on a nail head (possible due to earth's diminished gravity at the equator), water swirling differently on each side, and the sensation of walking the line.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Mercado Central of Quito (Mercado de San Roque or the smaller Mercado Central, 15 min from the old town) is the largest traditional market in Ecuador — the fresh produce from the Amazon (naranjilla, tree tomato, granadilla, uvilla), the ceviche de camarón (shrimp ceviche with corn toasted kernels and popcorn, very different from Peruvian ceviche — cooked shrimp in tomato and lime) and the hornado (whole roast pig in the market, the most common market food in the Ecuadorian highlands, served with llapingachos potato patties and ají).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Teleférico (Quito's aerial gondola, ascending from 2,950 m to 4,050 m on the flanks of Pichincha volcano in 9 minutes) gives the most extraordinary view of Quito — the entire city of 2 million people in its mountain valley with the surrounding volcanoes (Cotopaxi, Antisana, Cayambe) visible on clear mornings; from the top station, the hike to Cruz Loma (4,200 m, 30 min) gives the summit ridge view; the altitude is significant — take it slowly and bring a jacket (4°C at the top).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLa Floresta (the bohemian neighbourhood 1 km east of the old town) and Mariscal Sucre (the backpacker and expat party district, Foch Street) are Quito's most vibrant evening destinations — craft cocktail bars using Ecuadorian pisco (uva de mesa), Caña Manabita (Manabí sugarcane spirit), Zhumir (the Cuenca cane spirit) and the Rosa Mística pisco sour with Andean botanicals; the live music venues playing Andean folklorica, cumbia and salsa chichera.
Cotopaxi National Park (70 km south of Quito, 90 min by car) — Cotopaxi (5,897 m, one of the world's highest active volcanoes, perfectly conical with a permanent ice cap) is accessible to non-climbers by 4WD to the parking area at 4,600 m (the José Rivas refuge at 4,800 m is a 45-min walk from parking); the altitude at 4,600 m is felt immediately — breathlessness, light-headedness; the view of the conical ice-capped summit above the cloud line and the condors riding the volcanic thermals is one of the finest mountain experiences in South America.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideOtavalo (80 km north of Quito, 2 hrs) is the largest indigenous textile market in South America — the Saturday market (Mercado de Ponchos, Plaza de los Ponchos) draws the Otavaleño indigenous community (renowned for their weaving tradition for over 1,000 years, now selling throughout the world) with alpaca blankets, woven tapestries, hand-carved instruments, Panama hats (which are from Ecuador, not Panama — the name comes from the 1904 Panama Canal construction workers who wore them), and the most vibrant colour palette of any market in the hemisphere.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMindo (75 km northwest of Quito, 2 hrs) is the most biodiverse cloud forest in Ecuador — a UNESCO-listed biosphere with 400+ bird species (the highest bird diversity of any similarly-sized area in the world, including the cock-of-the-rock, plate-billed mountain toucan, golden-headed quetzal and 30+ hummingbird species), butterfly farms, orchid gardens and the Mindo chocolate farms (the Arriba Nacional cacao variety grown in the cloud forest, processed into some of the world's finest single-origin chocolate).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe closing Quito dinner — seco de chivo (slow-braised goat with ají amarillo, cumin and naranjilla juice, the highland Ecuadorian celebration dish), segundo (a traditional set meal of rice, beans, fried plantain, avocado salad and meat from the market), and the emerging Ecuadorian wine scene from the Tungurahua volcanic highland vineyards; the Rincón La Ronda restaurant on the cobblestone street with a view of the illuminated colonial steeples.