Quito
San Francisco de Quito
Quito, officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in northern Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of the Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. With an estimated population of about 1.5 million people as of 2005, Quito is the second most populous city in Ecuador, after Guayaquil. It is also the seat of the Quito Metropolitan District, home to 2 million residents, and the capital of the Pichincha province. As the headquarters of the newly-formed Union of South American Nations, Quito is also the de facto capital of South American integration.
Quito is located about 15 miles (25 km) south of the equator. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world).
The city's elevation is, on average, 2,800 m (about 9,200 ft), making Quito the second highest capital city in the world. There is some confusion about this claim because La Paz, Bolivia, which is higher, is the governmental capital of Bolivia (where the Bolivian government functions). However, Sucre, which is lower, is the legal capital of Bolivia.
Due to its high altitude and position on the equator, Quito has a constant, mild to cool climate year 'round. The typical high temperatue at noon is 26°C (78ºF) and the typical night-time low is 7°C (55ºF). The average temperature is 15° C (64ºF). The city experiences only two seasons: dry and wet. The dry season, June through September, is referred to as summer; the wet season, October through May, is referred to as winter.
Points of interest
Northern Quito
The northern part of Quito is the site of the main business district as well as upper-middle-class neighborhoods and a substantial number of buildings. It is also where the international airport (UIO) and major recreational areas are located.
Museo del Banco Central
This museum is a showcase of Ecuadorian art, history and culture. The ground floor features an extensive collection of pre-colonial (including pre-Incaic) potteries, sculptures, gold, lithics, and other artifacts such as a mummified body. There also are remarkable (if somewhat distorted) models to show the way various parts of Ecuador may have looked at the time, from the Pambamarca fort to the Cochasquí tumuli complex. The highlight of this collection is a golden sun mask of the La Tolita culture. The second floor is dedicated to Colonial art, and paintings and sculptures with religious themes are exhibited. The third floor is devoted to contemporary Ecuadorean art.
Parks
- Parque Metropolitano, with its 1,376 acres (5.57 km²) is the largest urban park in South America. (As reference, New York's huge Central Park is 843 acres (3.4 km²).) The park is located in the north of Quito, on the hillside, behind the Atahualpa Olympic (Soccer) Stadium. The park is suited for mountain biking, walking, or running. Most of it is eucalyptus forest with trails, but there also are numerous sculptures on display. The park has four sites that can be used for picnics or barbecues, and the eastern section has a view of Cotopaxi, Antisana and the Guayllabamba river basin.
- La Carolina is a 165.5 acre (670,000 m²) park in the Benalcázar parish in the middle of Quito's business and shopping district, bordered by three major streets: Avenida Amazonas, Avenida Shyris, and Avenida Naciones Unidas. Quiteños gather at La Carolina mostly on weekends to play fútbol (soccer), básket (basketball), ecua-volley (an Ecuadorean variation of volleyball. With less emphasis on spiking, the sport allows more of a throw and allows using the feet, much like soccer. Other activities include aerobics, kite flying, running, snacking, and people watching. The southern part of the park has a small pond where paddle boats can be rented, and a skatepark for bicyclists and skateboarders. Artists are known to perform on weekends at the park. In the western part of the park visitors will find the Quito Exhibition Center with different exhibits every month, the Quito botanical gardens, and a Vivarium.
- El Ejido is situated between the old part of the city and the modern section. This park is known for handicrafts available for sale every Saturday and Sunday, with all pricing subject to negotiation (i.e. haggling). Local painters sell copies of paintings by Oswaldo Guayasamín, Eduardo Kingman or Gonzalo Endara Crow. Otavaleños sell traditional sweaters, ponchos, carpets and jewelry.
- La Alameda park has the oldest astronomical observatory in South America as well as a monument of Simón Bolívar and a small lake where boats can be rented.
Old Town
The "centro histórico", historical center, as it is called, was appointed, along with the historic center of Kraków (Cracovia), Poland, as the first UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Site in 1978 and has many appealing plazas (the Independence Plaza being the most important) and manierist and baroque churches, including: the Cathedral, the convent and church of St. Francis, which is the largest building of the Colonial era built by the Spaniards in South America; the church of El Sagrario; convent and church of Santo Domingo; and the church of the Society of Jesus, or "La Compañía," which was built after the model of the Church of the Gesu in Rome. The Sucre Theater, where concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador are held, is in the vicinity. There also are several museums, many dedicated to Colonial art and history. The most renowned are the City Museum ("Museo de la Ciudad"), the Metropolitan Cultural Center and the museum of the Convent of St. Francis. Markets are scattered throughout the area.
El Panecillo
El Panecillo is a hill located in the middle west of the city with an altitude of about 9,895 feet (3,016 m) above sea level. The monument to Virgin Mary located on top of El Panecillo is visible from most of the city of Quito. This monument is based on a sculpture made by Bernardo de Legarda in the Spanish Colony time known as 'La Virgen de Quito'.
In 1976, the Spanish artist Agustín de la Herrán Matorras was commissioned by the religious order of the Oblates to build a 134½ foot (41 m)-tall aluminum monument of a madonna, which was assembled on a high pedestal on the top of Panecillo. Made of 7,000 pieces of aluminum, the monument was inaugurated on March 28, 1976, by the 11th archbishop of Quito, Pablo Cardinal Munoz Vega.
The figure stands on top of a globe, stepping on a snake (classic madonna iconography). What is not so traditional, however, is her wings. The people of Quito proudly claim that she is the only such figure in the world with wings like those of an angel. The monument was inspired by the famous "Virgen de Quito" (Quito's Madonna), also known as "the dancer" sculpted by Bernardo de Legarda in 1734, which now decorates the main altar at the Church of St. Francisco. This madonna represents a turning point of the Quito School of Art (one of the most renowned of the Americas) because it shows a figure with great movement (practically dancing) as a contrast with the traditional static madonnas produced during the 18th century.
Aerial tramway to Cruz Loma
Since July 2005, Quito has an aerial tramway, known as the "Telefériqo," from the city center to the hill known as Cruz Loma on the east side of the Pichincha volcano. The ride takes visitors to an altitude of about 13,400 feet (over 4,100 m) where they find a number of restaurants, coffee shops and a variety of stores. There are also trails for hiking and areas where pictures can be taken of Quito. Due to the increased altitude and the wind on the mountain, it is considerably cooler.
Besides the aerial tramway to Cruz Loma, the Telefériqo as a whole is a visitor center that includes an amusement park (Vulqano Park), fine dining restaurants, Go Karts, Paint Ball, shopping malls, extensive food court, and other attractions.
Outside the city
La Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world) is a small village administered by the prefecture of the province of Pichincha, 22 miles (35 km) north of Quito. The village features a large monument, built on the site where the equator was thought to have crossed the area in the early 1980s. There is also a museum that contains a model of Quito, a planetarium, various exhibits, several restaurants, an open arena that is occasionally used for dance, and a small chapel where couples can marry with one spouse standing in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern (it has since been determined that the actual equator is some 200 meters north of the monument area).
Pululahua is a volcano a few miles northwest from La Mitad del Mundo. Its caldera (crater) is visible from a spot easily accessible by car, and is believed to be one only a few in the world with human inhabitants. It is also the site of a Geo Botanical Reserve.
Quito Zoo located near the village of Guayllabamba, about 12 miles (20 km) outside Quito, has the biggest collection of native fauna in Ecuador, including several kinds of animals that are sometimes targeted in Ecuador in the illegal fur trade.
Other nearby natural attractions include:
- Pasochoa Volcano reserve
- Cotopaxi Volcano National Park
- Illinizas Peaks Ecological reserve
- Antisana volcano reserve
- Rucu and Guagua Pichincha volcanoes
- Papallacta and Oyacachi Thermal springs
- Cayambe Volcano - Coca National Park
- Mojanda Cajas lakes
- Mindo Nambillo Cloud forest reserve