DESTINATIONS > MAINLAND ECUADOR >THE ANDES > QUITO

Surrounded by 3 snow capped volcanoes, peaceful valleys enclosing rural life, and amazing cloud and tropical forests just one hour away, this cosmopolitan city, located only 15 km South of the Equator, will fulfill every traveler's expectations.

QUITO, a Unesco Heritage Site, holds one of the largest and best preserved -lived in- colonial areas in Latin America; home to the best Colonial Schools of Art in the American Continent, it offers even now one of the largest collections of baroque art in its colonial architecture, sculpture and paintings, all displayed in large and small churches, convents, museums and private collections.

At the same time the city, in its modern area, offers all the comforts of the 20 th century, with luxury hotels, gourmet restaurants, large shopping malls, theaters, art galleries, aerial tram, international airport, etc.

	Quito City Tour During the walking tour along Quito’s cobblestone streets we will have the chance to view buildings from the 16th to the 20th centuries. We’ll visit Independence Square where the Presidential Palace is located, and marvel at the ornate interior of the Baroque/Moorish Church of San Francisco as well as the golden interior of La Compañia church. The last part of our tour takes us far above the colonial section where the guardian of the city—the winged Virgin of Quito—keeps watch over her city. The view is spectacular, not only of the city far below but of the skyscraping Andes above and beyond.
	Equatorial Monument About 20 minutes away from the northern part of Quito stands the Middle of the Earth Monument, built to mark the meridian arch of the planet at 0º latitude—better known as the Equator—and to commemorate this surveying feat of the 18th century. It’s also the site of a small colonial replica town crowded with craft shops and restaurants. This excursion includes a visit to the marvelous Ethnographic Museum, which traces the history and archeology of Ecuador’s native peoples back to the Pleistocene.
	The Aerial Tram After a relaxed 10 minute ride up the mountain we reach an altitude of 4,050 meters, quite close to the summit of Pichincha volcano and the best location to see part of the Avenue of Volcanoes. We sit and enjoy the spectacular view of the city, its surrounding snow covered volcanoes: Cotopaxi, Antisana and Cayambe (over 5,750 meters); other volcanoes and mountains under 5,500 meters, as well as the fertile valleys with its agricultural fields between two Andean ranges. An impressive view complemented with restaurants, cafeterias, handcraft stores, and entertainment for everyone.
	Museum Visits Being home to some of the largest art collections in Latin America, Quito offers over 20 museums, some of them are part of convents and cloisters, holding almost exclusively religious art used even nowadays in processions; impressive public museums with exhibits going from archaeological to modern art, passing by pre-historical, ethnographic, colonial and gold artifacts collections, and private homes turned into museums, with exhibits of past elegant life- style or Modern Art exhibitions.