Quito

💡 About Quito

Quito, the high-altitude capital of Ecuador, sits at 2,850 metres in a long, narrow Andean valley, making it the second-highest capital city in the world. Cradled by the flanks of the active Pichincha volcano, it enjoys a spring-like climate and spectacular mountain scenery in every direction.

The city boasts one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centres in all of the Americas — a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the very first ever designated. Its atmospheric streets are packed with magnificent colonial churches, monasteries and plazas, above all the astonishing gilded interior of La Compañía, dripping with gold leaf.

Quito's greatest geographical claim to fame lies just outside the city: the equator itself, where visitors can stand with one foot in each hemisphere at the aptly named Mitad del Mundo — the "Middle of the World." A cable car climbs the volcano's slopes for breathtaking views over the city.

As the gateway to the Amazon, the Andes and the fabled Galápagos Islands, Quito is where many South American adventures begin. Historic, scenic and warmly welcoming, it is one of the continent's most captivating capitals.

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