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Colonial Quito Quito
169 Reviews Construction of La Merced started in 1701 and the church was inaugurated in 1747. There had been an earlier church at the same site, but it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1660. Beside La Merced...
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Diving and Snorkeling Galápagos Islands
47 Reviews The snorkeling along the edge of the lava flow at Sullivan Bay was excellent and we stayed in the water for 1.5 hours. We visited several great snorkeling locations during the cruise with M/S...
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Mitad del Mundo Quito
26 Reviews Take a short trip out of downtown Quito to mitad del mundo ... the Equator! We took a blue line public bus for $0.80 each way and it was a harrowing 1 hour journey with crazy drivers, but we survived...
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Charles Darwin Research Center Galápagos Islands
16 Reviews Also known as Solitary George, Lonesome George is the last turtle of his sub-species (Geochelone elephantopus abingdoni). His turtle buddies were all killed by either whalers in the 19th century (who...
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Museums Quito
44 Reviews Museo Nacional del Banco Central is situated in a large round building in the south end of Mariscal, in Parque Arbolito. It is a great museum displaying many masterpieces of Ecuadorian pre-Colombian...
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El Panecillo Quito
25 Reviews El Panecillo, which means the Little Bread Loaf, is a small round hill south of Centro Histórico. On top of El Panecillo there is a big statue of La Virgen de Quito. The statue has got wings like an...
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Local Markets Quito
9 Reviews On weekends, El Ejido becomes the sight of a large outdoor market featuring handicrafts typical of Ecuador. Everything here is the typical sort of tourist souvenir that you might expect from the...
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Apparently, the people here are so religious that there is a street called Calle de Siete Cruces, Street of Seven Crosses. If you know where to count, there are indeed 7 crosses down an entire street stretching over a few blocks. Happy hunting!
Other churches of note include:- La Compania, which has the most ornate and riotously sculptured exterior and interior.- La Merced, which has Quito's oldest clock and on 23 September, they celebrate the festival of the Virgen de La Merced. I presumed this is celebrated every year. More about the celebrations later in Local Customs.- La Basilica, this still-under-construction church is located 7 blocks northeast of Plaza de la Independencia. It was apparently modelled after Notre-Dame de Paris, so you will see the usual gargoyles, stained-glass windows, bronze doors, etc... I went during a service and boy, was there a massive crowd going in and coming out. I squeezed in and the entire hall was packed with devotees solemnly holding candles and singing 'hallelujah'. It was an impressive experience.
The other impressive plaza is Plaza de Santo Domingo.Personally, this is a good place to start exploring the colonial Quito because the Trole (Quito's tram system) from the New City stops right at the square and this is nearly the last stop before it heads out of the city-centre. So, it is good to have a cursory view of the city-centre from the Trole first and then, hop off here and start meandering back to La Basilica on foot.If you are a church person, why not pop into the church and monastery of Santo Domingo which has rich wood-carvings and an interesting chapel next to the main altar.
Another fantastic plaza is the Plaza de San Francisco where the San Francisco Church, Monastery and Museum is located. In the interior, while there may be some parts covered up by restoration, you will still be awed by the rich style that is known 'Baroque School of Quito'. This style apparently is a fusion of Spanish, Italian, Moorish, Flemish and indigenous art. It truly looked very old indeed, with creaky wooden floorings and magnificent frescoes.Construction of this church and monastery took 100 years to finish. However, I heard an interesting story associated with this. Well, I hope I got the church and story right. If I am wrong, perhaps, a Quiteno can very kindly correct me.The legend has it that the guy who was supposed to construct this church, squandered all the money on drinking. On the last day before the deadline, he made a pact with the Devil. If the Devil could construct...
Colonial Quito has several large plazas, and frankly, a few of them look as impressive as any main plaza of most colonial towns.But the MAIN plaza of these impressive ones is Plaza de la Independencia, with gardens, benches, and fountains.The main Cathedral, dating from 16th century, naturally faces the plaza. To the west, is the Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace). This is where the president resides and when I was there, there was a row of barricades in front and a troop of armed female guards clad in serious army-fatigues and holding shields. This is usually where protesters and demonstrations are held. This is also where poor villagers (who are paid a couple of dollars of lunch money) gather and follow some organisers to 'support' the president when the situation calls for it. They add 'mass'.In the past 10 years, quite a handful of Ecuador's presidents had been ousted from their...
Quito's colonial Old Town is quite pretty and charming, with many undulating, narrow, cobble-stoned alleyways and cul-de-sacs. Sometimes, above you, are stone archways, some lanes are so narrow the pedestrian path is enough for only 1 skinny person to crab-walk through.Years ago, colonial Quito was very very very dangerous. It was dirty and crowded and petty crimes and armed robberies were rife. Around 2000 or earlier, the government pumped in a lot of money to clean the whole place up. They relocated the street-stalls to some 'centro comercial'. They repaved the pedestrian walkways. They literally cleared the rubbish off the street. There was increased police patrol.However, it does not mean that one can throw caution to the wind now. My friends still preferred not to carry any bags, putting all they need in their pockets and well, they had to keep touching themselves all the time just...
El Panecillo means 'little piece of bread' in Spanish.This refers to the little hill in the southern end of colonial Quito. Quito is a long city (like a sausage) of about 35km in length and 5km wide. From the top of the hill, facing north, you will see the New City of Quito stretching ahead. This is the 'richer' part of Quito. Facing south, you will see the 'poorer' section of Quito.At its peak, there is a monument of a Madonna with Wings, also known as 'Virgen de Quito' (Quito's Madonna). From several narrow alleyways of colonial Quito, you can capture a pretty image of this unique and iconic virgin.I was driven here at midnight by my hosts. Frankly, colonial Quito at midnight is frightfully eerie as not a single shop is opened and nearly all the streets are empty of cars. But my friends were determined to show me a night-view of Quito and we endeavoured to find the way up the little...
Imbabura Volcano is the towering volcano you see as you walk along Lago de San Pablo.The slopes of and areas around Imbabura are very fertile. You can observe many farms growing maize, sugarcane, and beans.Standing at 4,630m, it is nearly always enshrouded in clouds. If you are those who come to Ecuador to climb every volcano, you certain can do this one. There are apparently 2 different routes. One is not difficult and people of no formal mountain-climbing experience can achieve it, provided he/she is in good physical health. The other needs rock-climbing experience, where helmet, harness, ropes are needed. It is also possible to walk around the open crater.I can offer no tips except to engage a trusted travel agency to guide you up there and be very prepared for the cold.
[continue from Lago de San Pablo]After about 2 hours, the old road turn off left but a stony path continues straight on. Take the stony path and soon, you will hear the sound of waterfall down in the forest to your left. Keep walking along the stony path until you reach the bottom to a small town (Peguche) where there is a more obvious path into the woods to your left. This should be within half an hour.Following the path, you will finally arrive at Cascada de Peguche - a waterfall. Again, this is nothing to write home about but hey, you have arrived so bask at the pretty little waterfall for a moment. Following the path (not retracing your steps, but another path that continues on), you will walk through more pleasant woods and get to a side-road for vehicles where you can wait and catch a minibus back to Otavalo easily.
Lago de San Pablo is so-so. The nicer lake I believe is Laguna Cuicocha. To go there, you need to hire a taxi (rather expensive) and this is more economical if you are in a group.If you are alone and have a day to spare, you can try this little day-trip to Lago de San Pablo.Take the local bus to San Pablo. It is right at the east end of the lake. Once at the town, ask around for a path that leads to the lake. It is generall heading west back towards Otavalo.You will be walking along the old road running through the north of the lake that was used before the Pan American Highway was built along the south of the lake. Soon, you can see the lake in the distance. At the next tiny village, Aragua, there is a semi-path that leads right to the lake. Well, it looks like a normal lake, with many Otavaleños doing their laundry along the river leading to it. Apparently, Lago de San Pablo is stated...
Four Points by Sheraton Quito Quito
6 Reviews and 82 Opinions I knew this hotel as the Sheraton Quito, but I suppose that it was, at least at one time, a Four...
Hotel Victoria Cuenca
1 Review and 46 Opinions I arrived without a reservation at the end of a long and exhausting day (see my Alausi page). The...
Samari Spa Resort Baños
33 Opinions
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Q: Hello I leave in Ecuador next month and i'm looking a spanish school, located in the Pacific Coast. I know there is a school in...
A: Hello Enrico You're right, Montanita is such a touristic place. I understand you want to avoid it. Last year, I have spent one month in a spanish school in Sua, near...
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