 | Quito Off the Beaten Path | Tips 11 - 19 of 19 |  |
Popular Off the Beaten Path | Miscellaneous Off the Beaten Path Tips | All Tips (19) If you like views, check out the sweeping views from the highest reachable points in Quito atop the high slopes of Cruz Loma and Volcan Pichincha by visiting the TeleferiQo. This modern cable car opened up in 2005 and is now a very popular activity for locals and tourists alike. The whole complex includes VulQano Park, mini amusement park with a roller coaster carousels and more, a Mondo Kart racetrack where you can race your buddies in mini race cars, a few shops, souvenir stores and, in general, a bunch of second-rate sideshows that are really better bypassed in favor of the real show, which is the view over Quito.
A ticket will cost $4 and the cable car will take you over a thousand meters up the mountain to multiple viewing points, including an indoor spot, which is nice considering the temperature is sure to be more than a few degrees colder up top. Leave a Comment
|
In the mood for some local culture and handmade arts and crafts? The outdoor market in Otovalo, Ecuador held everything from swords to pipes, blankets to silver and lots of clothes. All handmade by local tribes from the neighboring Amazon River basin. Leave a Comment
|
Just north of Quito you'll find a very famous tourist attraction that is both kitschy and intriguing at the same time. La Mitad del Mundo means "the middle of the world" and this is an appropriate name for a place that marks literally the point (almost) on the equator. It's a cool thing to straddle this point and to be able to say that you are standing in the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time. Then again, the giant monument does sort of wreak of tourism and as you stand there posing for the same photos that everyone else takes, you feel sort of diluted. However, sometimes you just have to accept the condition of being human and the instinct to be in a place that is rare and one of a kind, and there are few places on earth that can fit that bill better than here.
I enjoyed touring the site with Catalina, who graciously took yet another visitor here (I'm sure she's been here far too often) and made it fun as we both enjoyed the novelty and the spectacle of this geographically intriguing place. Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
 | |  |  | Quito in a puddle - Quito dans une flaque | |  |  | |  |
On Tumbaco valley, like 20 minutes east from Quito, there is this special place where recovery therapy for disabled children and adults is being carried on, using horses as the main healing tool.
It's run by Fundacion AM-EN, a not for profit organization managed by a very kind german lady and though it's been focused on helping local people, now they are starting, with good results, hippotherapy-tourism, my best wishes for them!
They also have a place where foreign volunteers can stay free of charge, while help on therapies with children and learn how to ride if wished.
A very good spot to visit if you are involved with high-purpose challenges! Leave a Comment Website: http://www.fundacion-amen.org/
|
Pululahua is a very large extinct volcano that is easy to visit if you're planning a visit to the nearby Mitad del Mundo. The crater is a very interesting micro-climate containing a large and diverse number of plant species. It's important, however, to visit earlier than we did since the area is usually covered in thick blanket of clouds after the early morning hours.
Pululahua is only about 4 or 5 km away from the Mitad del Monument on the Calcali Highway and the easiest thing to do is to park up by the somewhat touristy, El Crater restaurant located right at the rim of the crater. You can hike down into the crater, but we decided to simply enjoy the view. Leave a Comment
|
The Cotopaxi volcano (whose name means "neck of the moon" in Quechua) visit is a must. Very close to Quito and with beautiful views. There´s a fee of 10$ if you want to visit the park. Even if you´re not an expert (I´m not not and i did it) you should try to climb the volcano to the El Refugio (The Refuge). A half four hike up brings you to the place called Refugio José Ribas, that stands at 4,800 meters. The hike is hard but really worth the effort. Leave a Comment
|
The funny thing about La Mitad del Mundo is that it is, in fact, wrong!!! Ever since a scientific expedition determined that it was the spot to call the middle of the world, people have wanted to come and visit. In 1979, the stone monument and the complex was built and instantly it became a popular tourist attraction. But, then in recent years, the technological innovation of GPS has deemed the original site to be slightly off target. In fact, the real "middle of the world" is about 215 meters away at this new attraction. In my opinion, this is actually more interesting because of the science experiments that you can do here. Check out my pictures below and you'll being to understand. Balancing two eggs on top of each other, watching water spiral down a drain and even exerting downward force on your travel companion are all interesting experiments that will plainly reveal that the doing any of these things a few meters apart on either side of the true equator can make a big difference in the end result. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
 | 1 | 2 |  |
More Sponsored Links for Quito |
 |
 |
Search Hotels
Find the best room rates |
|
 |
|
on May 14, 2008
on September 15, 2003
on April 27, 2004
on February 22, 2006
on April 12, 2008
on April 26, 2004
