Quito (Ecuador): 2 Days

September 2022

Quito, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1978, was a stop on our Ecuador tour package. Founded in 1534, it is the oldest of all South American capitals. We did have 3 nights there, but, the first night, we did not get to the hotel till after midnight. Next morning we went to the Old Town area starting from the National Basilica shown in the picture above and number 3 on the map below. We did not go inside, but, our guide said the small entrance fee would be money well spent on our free day. He said we could walk up to the tower to see a great view of the city.

As seen on this map, most tourist attractions are concentrated in the Old Town. There are 4-5 churches within 2-3 blocks around the center square, Plaza Independencia (sometimes called Plaza Grande). All the churches used lots of gold decoration in the buildings in order to attract indigenous people to Catholic churches: gold meant the sun in indigenous culture. Garcia Moreno street is famous for the 7 stone crosses (churches) lining up on it.

Oh, I have to mention that.right before we stepped in the main square, the guide took us to a small chocolate shop in a boutique hotel. Ecuador had been a major exporter of high grade cacao beans since 1800’s, but, they never made chocolates until recently. Dikaty Chocolate shop had 100% true dark chocolate that was quite delicious.

#5 on the map, El Panecillo hill, is seen from the main square area in the photo below

Our tour took us to the Amazon Rain Forest after visiting the old town. However, we picked up right where we left when we came back from that detour. While we were at the Dikaty chocolate shop, we noticed a business lunch special at the hotel: a 3 course lunch for $12.50! We had to try it & liked it very much. (Ecuador uses US$ as their currency.)

After lunch, we took a cab to the Quito Cable Car, #2 on the map above, and climbed up to 12,600 feet above the sea level to have the whole city under our feet. A few snow-capped volcanoes were peaking out over the clouds. Quito is located in a valley on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active volcano in the Andes, at an elevation of 2,850 m (9,350 ft), making it the second-highest capital city in the world after the Bolivian capital of La Paz (3,869 m/12,693 ft). Luckily, the altitude didn’t seem to bother us much here even though it had hit me hard in Lake Titicaca, Peru (12,507 ft).

Another major attraction in Quito area is Middle of the World City, a monument to mark latitude 0. Ecuador means equator in Spanish. The equator passes through 13 countries, but, there is only one country actually named as such, and Ecuador is banking on that as much as possible. So much so that there are several of these monuments competing for tourists according to our guide. Being on the equator means the sun rises around 6 AM and sets around 6 PM every day.

This monument is supposed to be the #1 attraction in Ecuador. There seemed to be lots of Ecuadorians visiting this complex when we were there. The yellow line is the equator in the photo above. There is a museum (free) inside the structure. An elevator takes you up to the observation deck on top which was quite crowded. Many shopping , dining, and performing venues were on the ground as well as a church sitting on the equator line where a couple can get married standing in different hemispheres. A cacao museum there was informative.

Notice the short shadows? There is no shadow at all at noon on equinoxes of spring and autumn.

I had been a bit disappointed when the tour itinerary showed only 2 full days in Quito because I thought there would be a lot to see and do in Quito. But 2 full days felt about right in the end. Tourists stay in downtown, but, the majority of the locals live in suburbs as the city grew from a small city center to a city of 2 million. This physical division made the city not as charming in our opinion because we din’t feel we really saw the local life.

If I had planned the trip on my own, I would have enjoyed visiting Cuenca, an old colonial city in the south of Ecuador.

Where we stayed: The hotel included in the tour package was Mercure Alameda, a decent hotel about 3 Km northeast of the old town. Our room was spacious and comfortable. The only problem was there was no heating and it felt a bit chilly at night in September.

Where we ate: Quito is actually known for good food, but, we never had a chance to enjoy it. Breakfast buffet was provided for free at the hotel. There were some restaurants near the hotel, but, most of them were closed on Sundays, and, that’s when we were there. We did have a decent meal at a restaurant in the MIddle of the World City complex pictured above & got to taste the grilled guinea pig (not cheap at around $25 but tasty enough) that someone else ordered.

Trip Itinerary: Quito -> Tena & Amazon Rain Forest -> San Cristobal (Galapagos) -> Guayaquil