Quito - things to do and a few facts.

View on Quito from El Panecillo hill

At a height of 2,800 metres (9,350 feet) above sea level lays the highest capital of the World - Quito in Ecuador, if we take into account that Sucre is the official capital of Bolivia, not La Paz. 

UNESCO declared it the first World Cultural Heritage Site in 1978, along with the city of Kraków, Poland 
The Old Town is one of the biggest and least altered in the whole South America.
It was founded in 980 AD as Kingdom of Quito by Caras people, then in the year 1462 has been conquered by Tupac Inca and it became a part of the Incan Empire. Finally, it has been conquered by Spaniards in the year 1534 and named Santiago de Quito. Its' official name is San Francisco de Quito.

Canelazo is the Ecuadorian national hot alcoholic drink

The city is located within the Andean mountain range, in a valley by the foot of active Pichincha volcano. It is extends to about 42km long and at the widest point it stretches only up to 5km.  It takes long time to get from one point of the city to the other, however the transportation is well organised. There is a separate lane for the buses, which in here is called 'Trole', and it costs US $0,25 per ride.

The monument of the false equator 

La Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) is the name of the place where equator is. It has been called the middle of the world to avoid confusion with the actual name of the country - Ecuador, which in Spanish means equator. To get there, you can go on a tour with the hop-on hop-off bus (US $12), which takes you to all the most interesting points in the city, you would need two days to see all of it though. We got there by bus, which we took from the street Mariscal Sucre. The bus has written on the windscreen clearly 'La Mitad del Mundo' in blue (US $0,25 one way). After around 50 minutes we arrived, it is the last stop of the bus. The entrance costs US $4 per person. Allow yourself about 3hours to see the monument, surrounding and the Intiñan museum (where the real equator actually is located). It is very interesting that the equator was measured by French scientists, and has been miscalculated, that's why the monument is placed wrongly. The indigenous people have known since long time where the equator is located, which is around 200 metres farther. 

Spanish arriving in America.
That made me think about the colonization process and mass killings of Indians. Humanity had lost a massive piece of culture and knowledge for the sake of gold and power over territory. Those people knew much more than the Europeans at that time. It is one of the greatest losses in history. 

To finish off, here is a list of the things and places chosen by myself as the most interesting in Quito. Enjoy! 

If you have any questions, please send me an e-mail : koalatraveller@gmail.com    

To do list in Quito, Ecuador: 

- Walk around the Historical Centre 

- The most beautiful churches: San Francisco, de la Compañia de Jesus, Basílica del Voto Nacional, La Catedral de Quito

- Go to the monument of fake equator – the whole village La Mitad del Mundo is interesting, the views spectacular and don’t miss the Intiñan museum, where the real equator is located.

- Visit Ecuadorian Central Bank Museum (Museo del Banco Central de Ecuador) located in Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana - Av. 6 de Diciembre & Patria, dedicate a few hours of your time to it.

- Visit Museum of the Quito City (Museo de la Ciudad) located in García Moreno 572 & Rocafuerte (Centro Histórico)

- Don’t miss eating out on the rooftop to enjoy the spectacular views, e.g. Vista Hermosa on Calle Mejía 453 and García Moreno

- Go up the hill El Panecillo, where the statue of the Virgin of Quito is placed, and overlooking the city. Get there by taxi ($3US).

- For even better views of the city, go up to a height of 4,053m with the cable car (teleferico). 

- Enjoy the parks of Alameda (rent a boat), El Ejido (otavaleño market on Saturdays) or La Carolina (botanical garden)