Quito is the second highest capital of the world after the Bolivian La Paz. Despite the fact that it is located at an altitude of 2,850 meters here is not cold. The reason is that Quito stands on the equator, so year round the temperature is almost the same, about 15 degrees. In Europe at such height there are even no shrubs. We did not have any problems with the altitude, but some people can suffer, so buy diakarb in advance.
It is believed that the old town of Quito is the best among the South American cities. Not surprisingly, Quito was the first city, which in 1978 was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. And that's true, the old town is really beautiful. Moving around the city is quite difficult, especially for a European tourist, its length of more than 50 kilometers. We went by taxi, but in general the main transport are Metrobus buses that travel on dedicated lines ($0.25).
Unfortunately, security is the first thing that we noticed in Quito. During three days we did not encounter problems, but the police with machine guns standing in the old town on every corner. On the next photo you can see living building in the center of Quito surrounded by electrical fence! So you should be careful, do not show the money near the ATM.
To see more, we took a taxi for the full day ($100). Exploring of the city we began with a visit to Teleferiko. Then went to the equator and to the Pululahua volcano. Then returned to the city and went to the Statue of the Virgin Mary (Virgin of El Panecillo). If you are walking int he old town it's better to go up by taxi.
Went down, released a taxi and went for a walk around the old town. We did not attent the museums. In Quito, by the way, there is a pretty good cycling infrastructure with dedicated bikeways and bike rentals.
We did not have a specific route in the old town, just walked around. The only thing you must remember that it is located on a slope, so you have to go up and down which is not easy on a such altitude.
San Francisco is the best square in the city. This place was the center of Quito before the arrival of the Incas and called Tianges, which means "the market". The Incas built their palace here, but the Spaniards came in 1534 and destroyed everything. This year is the year of the foundation of the modern Quito. At the moment, the main construction on the square is a Franciscan monastery. It was built in 70 years and it is believed that this is the largest structure built by the Spaniards after the colonization of South America.
There are a lot of arcades around the central square. Arcades are very popular in southern European countries like Italy or Spain, therefore this architectural trend was passed to Ecuador.
After strolling in the old town, we went to the Mariscal district, where we had a hotel. Actually most of the tourists advised us this area, so we stayed there. Anyway, usually tourists visit only 2 districts in Quito - Mariscal and Old Town.
But on the way there we expected to see many interesting places. First of all a huge National Cathedral. We had planned to go up to the observation deck, which is located on the roof, but we were late and cathedral was closed.
Further, several parks. Quito, in general, is not green city, but there are several parks around Marikal district. In the Alemeda park located Observatory as well as water channels.
In the Arbolito park stands a huge National Museum, known for its collection of Inca gold. Also we saw here an unusual sculpture made of gas cylinders.
In the park El Ejido there is a market for tourists, where we bought a few souvenirs, in particular national hat. In Ecuador, everybody wears a hat :). Also here there is one of the symbols of Quito.
From this point starts Amazonas street, which is considered the central shopping street. It's not very interesting, but we bought here Ray Ban sunglasses for $5 :)
Getting there: The new Quito airport located 25 kilometers from the city, but because of the traffic the travel time will be more than an hour. Bus is a very cheap way to get to the center. Take the green bus ('transporte colectivo'), it runs every 15 minutes, costs $2 and goes to the Rio Coca terminal. Switch there to Metrobus Rojo and go to the Mariscal Sucre. disctict. A taxi to the center will cost $25-40.
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