Ecuador – Quito

The closest capital to zero latitude, Quito has increasingly become a point of interest.

Centro Historico

Centro Histórico (Old Town) is not only the largest and best-preserved colonial center in Latin America, it’s also the world’s very first UNESCO World Heritage city.

Amazingly, there are more than 200 churches, convents, and monasteries clustered together in the compact Old Town. Unless you’re a church fan and want to spend your time visiting all of them, focus on the 3 main ones: Basílica del Voto Nacional and climb the dizzyingly high central tower to get a nice view of the city and volcanoes, San Francisco Church on the main plaza and Compañía de Jesús, considered one of the most beautiful churches in South America

On Friday and Saturday nights, the restored winding historical boulevard, La Ronda, comes to life. There are artisanal shops and restaurants with different budgets. The Heladería Dulce Placer is one of the world’s greatest ice cream shops, with 600 different flavors.

In the neighborhood, you’ll find different chocolate shops, you have to get a chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) as the équatorial cacao is one of the best in the world! I promise you’re in for a treat!

La Mariscal

La Mariscal, on the other hand, looks like a combination of all the 21st century most horrible aspects. Full of karaoke joints, dodgy clubs and bars, lots of gringo-centric restaurants, it’s noisy and ugly. However, for those wanting a proper night out, this is the place you’re looking for, especially around Plaza Foch.

Otavalo market

Otavalo is situated about 2-3 jours away from Quito but people usually visit it from the capital on a day trip. Otavalo’s market is legendary, but I do need to tell you not to get your expectations too high, it’s not THAT big if you don’t go on a Saturday. Plaza de Ponchos, the nucleus of the crafts market, is filled every day with vendors selling woolen goods, as well as beads, paintings, and other crafts. On Saturday, official market day, it grows to the adjacent roads and around half of the town center. Bargaining is expected, especially with multiple purchases.

I prefered going on a week day as I wanted to avoid the groups of tourists and get better bargains, but the 6 hours bus trip bus a bit long just to visit the market. I would suggest going with a day tour that will also bring you to different places along the way (tours are organized on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s only).

Other activities

Here are some other activities people suggested but I didn’t have time to do:

• Teleferico
• Mitad del Mundo

Security

Express kidnappings and robberies of taxi passengers were very present but the city has recognized it and is trying to make it better (security cameras in taxis for example) but I would still suggest to be very cautious and ask your hotel or restaurant to call you a taxi rather than hailing it in the streets.

Travelling

Terminal Carcelen is located in the north of the city. This is the place to get your buses to Otavalo and the Mitad del Mundo. A taxi to/from the station will cost around 8 USD.

Terminal Quitumbe is in the south of the city where you’ll find your buses for Baños, Guayaquil, Cuenca or the Amazon region.

I stayed at the Masaya Hostel and was very happy with it! It’s cheap but very clean and the bunk beds have curtains so you don’t get woken up by others turning on the light. The interior garden is also a plus!