- Quito
- (27)
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Ecuador
The apartment in Quito was fantastic. Everything was clean and lovely and the location was perfect. I really had such a beautiful stay in the apartment and the comfort and convenience of it made it all possible.
This hotel is in a beautiful colonial building in the old town of Quito. The location is ideal, the staff are friendly and the rooms are comfortable with hot water. The suites also have a small kitchenette.
It is also resonably priced for a capital city. Suites at US$42 and all other rooms for less.
cnr. Av. Guayaquil and Sucre.
www.uio-guided.com/hsfquito
It is a cafe, cultural centre, and shop. The cafe has tables outside overlooking the Plaza San Fransisco which is very beautiful. The shop sells indigenous art ranging from clothing to paintings and jewellery.
Plaza San Fransisco, Quito
Sacha Lodge in the Northern Oriente area of Ecuador is a fantastic place to experience the Amazonian rain forest. It’s made up of a collection of cabins on the banks of a lake. Whether you are an avid bird watcher, or just a curious traveler, the lodge have staff who will do everything they can to make your visit rewarding, educational and whole lot of fun. Accommodation is comfortable, the food is amazing, and the level of customer care from all of the staff is exceptional. Our guides were knowledgeable and friendly and were only too happy to pass on some of their knowledge of the flora and fauna that surrounded us. I can’t recommend this place highly enough and on top of all that it does valuable work in conservation too.
Some tour companies in the area are providing hunting expeditions with members of the local indigenous communities. While it’s legal for the indigenous population to hunt, it is illegal for tourists to take part in hunts, and the activity damages local wildlife populations so you should decline, and find another tour company if they offer you a hunt as part of your tour.
www.sachalodge.com
Take a short flight from Quito
It's a community ecotourism project off the beaten track. You can going trekking, rafting, horseriding, and other activities too, and it's more interesting than a place like mindo as it feels more like Ecuador!
www.piedrablanca.org
Near San Luis de Pambil
Bolivar Province
The official website for the city of Quito, with plenty of inspiration and information on sights, activities and events in the Ecuadorian capital.
A small, friendly and ethical 'adventure holiday' company, specialising in climbing/trekking in Ecuador. Offers three tours - all out of Quito: a two/three-week trek-based holiday, a two/three-week climbing-based holiday and a week-long add-on option in the Galapagos. Nice team, genuinely love what they do - and the bonus of eco-tourism to boot. A (rare to find these days) genuine experience of a lifetime! Recommended.
www.mountainsofecuador.com
Tel. 0844 800 9679 / 01926 887688
Email: info@mountainsofecuador.com
Mountains of Ecuador Ltd
PO Box 4529
Leamington Spa
CV31 9EP
Tel. 0844 800 9679 / 01926 887688
Email: info@mountainsofecuador.com
From the big city to some of the last remaining pristine cloud forest on the continent in just a couple of hours. Estimates state that a mere 5-10% of the original coverage of cloud forest on the western cordillera of Ecuador still exists today. That the people of Mindo have opted to protect their corner of what’s left is just one part of the reason to go. The other part is that it’s great fun.
Suddenly skyscrapers and buses are replaced by dirt roads and beat-up truck-taxis. Hummingbirds, butterflies, orchids, waterfalls, huge trees, about 450 species of birds … Mindo’s got the lot for anyone enamoured with nature. For those with a taste for adventure, there’s a gravity-defying cable car, and Mindo’s unique version of “rafting” involving inner tubes. But the vibe is so laidback, it’s hard to maintain that pace. Just relax, no estas en Quito.
Getting there: Reina de los Nubes Bus Terminal, just down the hill from Quito’s main Terminal Terrestre, in the Old Town. About 2 hours to get there.
There's so much more to see than Quito...
windowtoablueplanet.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_windowtoablueplanet_archive.html
Chugchilan is a small village, popular for hiking trails, that takes about a day to get to from Quito.
The Black Sheep Inn is an inexpensive ecologically friendly hotel high in the Andes Mountains. It is a perfect place to discover centuries-old culture and diverse ecosystems. It offers affordable accommodation and provides you with a great base for day hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, acclimating and exploring indigenous markets.
www.responsibletravel.com/Accommodation/Accommodation100083.htm
An inspiring ecolodge high in the Andes, in the small village of Chugchilan, near Latacunga (about a day's journey from Quito). It's in a beautiful rural location - just getting there is an adventure. Delicious veggie food, grown organically by the lodge. Composting toilets are an experience. Great hiking, biking and horseriding nearby - the lodge give you all the info you need. All local staff and loads of benefits go to the local community. And (the unusual bit for such a great ecolodge) - totally affordable at around $30 per person per night including breakfast and dinner. It's an amazing place.
See www.blacksheepinn.com for instructions on how to get there. Local buses or private vehicles can be arranged:
tel: 593 3 - 281-4587
San Francisco is the Jake La Motta of Ecuadorian churches – you just can’t knock it down. It has survived the eruption of Pichincha Volcano in 1582, an earthquake in 1868 that toppled its towers, and a further eruption – this time of the volcano Gua-Gua Pichincha – in 1999, to win the title of longest-standing church on the continent. Currently, and unsurprisingly, undergoing restoration, San Francisco is considered the indigenous church – a champion of the people if you like. Dark and gloomy within, most of the light comes reflected from the huge gold-leaf nave. Built on the site of an Inca temple, San Francisco is as tough and stoic as its worshippers.
Hours: Mon-Sat 7-11:30 am and 3-5:30 pm; Sun 7am – noon.
Location: Plaza San Francisco, Old Town.
Telephone: 02-221-1124
Source of arguably the best coffee in Quito, it’s the perfect place to get a day of sightseeing off to a civilised start. A little pricey by the standards of the Mariscal district, but worth every centavo if you have been on a steady diet of chicken and rice for several weeks. Real bacon, bagels, pancakes, fresh juices ... and that coffee. Let it work its magic.
Foch No 681 and Juan Leon Mera (by Ave Amazonas); tel: (593 2) 2566 181/2906 105;
www.ecuadorexplorer.com/magic
If you do stay in Quito you must stay in this wonderful hotel. An old hacienda with beautiful individual rooms covered in murals - many have open fires, four-poster beds, Victorian baths, balconies - and delicious food including home-made bread and preserves. Worth staying in Quito just to stay here.
Many people use Quito as a brief stop-off on their way to the jungle, or to the Galapagos. However, it is worth thinking of staying a bit longer. One possiblity is to stay a few weeks to do a full immersion course in Spanish. There are many schools in the city, who can provide one to one tuition at a very reasonable price.
If you are staying longer, you might also want to explore the possibility of taking an apartment - there are many options for apartments to rent in the Old Town, the Mariscal and Guapulo Village.
Of course you can have a great time whilst staying in the city - there are a good selection of theatres, clubs, bars and restaurants to visit, and a nightime walk around the old town is a must, and on Sundays there is a very good sale of artwork at Parc El Ejido.
more about staying in Quito at www.my-Quito.com
If you have an afternoon to spare, why not take a walk down to the historic village of Guapulo.
Take a taxi to the Camino de Orellana, just next to the Hotel Quito - five minutes from the Mariscal.
At the top of the winding round down to the village you will find a small bar, Mirador de Guapulo, where you can enjoy a light lunch with typical Ecuadorean platters, whilst looking out over the fabulous view of Guapulo and its historic church.
From here you can either follow the cobbled street down the hill or take the short cut through the small park in front of the bar. Wear good shoes as the road is steep. On the way down you will see a range of interesting old buildings.
The area has a bohemian atmosphere and is home to many artists. At the bottom sits the beautiful Sancturia de Guapulo, Quito's oldest colonial church, facing onto a small square. In front of the church is a statue of Fransisco de Orellana, the Conquistador who sailed the length of the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean in 1542. There is a small taxi rank opposite the church, where you can get a ride back up to the city.
Taxi to Hotel Quito and then by foot.
You've not experienced Quito until you've taken a ride on a city bus. The brightly coloured buses in various states of disrepair trundle cheerfully along the Quito streets with salsa music playing and the conductor leaning out the door reeling off a long list of destinations. There are few bus stops; most of the time you can simply flag down the bus as it passes and get off where and when you please.
Once inside you'll be able to buy everything you need, and many items you really don't need, as travelling vendors will continually jump on and off in the slow city traffic. From toasted maize and iced lollies to Sponge Bob stickers, ponchos and even giant foam feet, you want it, they'll have it.
Finding a route map can be something of a challenge, but if you have a couple of hours to kill then it's hardly necessary. Simply jump aboard and enjoy an authentic tour of the city for just 25¢. Make sure you take the correct change though: if there's one thing that winds a bus conductor up it's a gringo trying to pay the bus fare with a $5 bill.
Major roads (eg. Av. America, Av. Rio Amazonas)
SAE is a club for expats, travellers and Ecuadorians to mingle, exchange books and ideas and find trip companions for excursions like climbing Chimborazo, one of the many nearby active volcanos. There's a well- stocked library, great coffee, nice vibe and even a pool table. Everything, in short, the solo traveller could hope for.
www.samexplo.org/ The Quito branch is located just of the 6 de Diciembre in the Mariscal area of the city - see the web site for more details.
If you only visit one church in Ecuador – and that in itself would be something of a miracle – this should be it. Unprepossessing from the outside, the interior is capable of inspiring awe in the most jaded, seen-it-all travellers. Described by some (mainly Ecuadorians, one suspects) as South America’s Sistine Chapel, and covered aisle-to-spire in gold leaf, it’s an incredible display of baroque workmanship. Or maybe an obscene display of wealth, built by the Jesuits with the blood and sweat of indigenous labourers. Whatever your opinion, it’s a thought-provoking must-see.
Hours: Mon – Fri 10 am – 1 pm and 2-5 pm; Sat 10 am – 1 pm
Location: Calle Garcia Moreno and Sucre
It’s easy to reach Church Saturation Point in Quito’s Old Town. Such was the plethora of religious buildings erected by the conquering Spaniards, the Cathedral is not even the grandest church on the block, never mind the entire barrio. But if you look at it more in terms of history than religion, it gets more interesting. There are paintings from the Quito School of Art containing indigenous images in a small act of rebellion by co-opted native artists; the Moorish influences in the architecture, relics of another war fought by the Spaniards; and the bones of Marshall Sucre, hero of Ecuador’s successful fight for independence. There’s more to the Street of Seven Crosses than crosses.
Plaza de Independencia.
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