Ecuador
Quito
A colonial old town of gold-lined churches, two miles up in the Andes, with the equator a short drive away.
Ecuador's capital runs for miles along a high Andean valley at about 2,850 m, under the slopes of the Pichincha volcano. Its Centro Historico, one of the first places UNESCO ever listed, is among the largest and best-preserved colonial centres in the Americas, a grid of plazas, convents and gold-lined churches. The equator crosses just north of the city at Mitad del Mundo, and Quito is the usual base for the volcanoes, cloud forest and markets of the highlands.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Spanish
Currency
USD
Timezone
UTC-5
Why you'll love Quito
The old town plazas, cloisters and Baroque churches across dozens of blocks, still lived in rather than preserved behind glass.
The setting volcanoes on every horizon, with Cotopaxi's snow cone visible on clear mornings from the hills above town.
The equator stand with a foot in each hemisphere at Mitad del Mundo, under an hour north of the city.
The base cloud forest, crater lakes, hot springs and Andean markets all lie within a day's reach.
Best time to visit
Jun-Sep, Dec-Jan
Mild, showers · 19-19° days
0.220° S, 78.512° W
UTC-5 · America/Guayaquil
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Weather & when to go to Quito
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Jun-Sep, Dec-Jan
Conditions Jan Mild, showers · Feb Mild & wet · Mar Wet · Apr Wettest · May Wet easing · Jun Dry starts · Jul Dry · Aug Driest · Sep Dry · Oct Wetter · Nov Wet · Dec Mild
Watch for all year altitude risk
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Quito
No month is a write-off. Mornings are usually clear all year, and the wetter stretches bring heavy afternoon showers rather than days of rain; the drier middle of the year is brighter and breezier. The real catch is altitude: at around 2,850 m, take the first day or two slowly before hiking or heading higher.
Top things to do in Quito
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Plaza Grande - the heart of the old town
history culture arts 👍 PopularIndependence Square is framed by the Carondelet presidential palace, the cathedral and the archbishop's palace, with the independence monument at its centre. It is where Quitenos sit, shine shoes and argue politics, and the natural start for a walk of the Centro Historico.
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La Compania de Jesus - the golden church
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedThe Jesuit church took over 150 years to build and its interior is covered almost entirely in gold leaf, from the carved altars to the vaulted ceiling. The volcanic-stone Baroque facade outside is one of the finest in South America.
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San Francisco church and convent - the great plaza
history culture artsOne of the oldest large religious complexes in the Americas, begun soon after the Spanish founding, set on a vast sloping cobbled plaza. Inside, the convent museum holds works of the Quito School, the colonial workshops famous for polychrome carved saints.
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Basilica del Voto Nacional - climb the towers
culture arts scenicA huge neo-Gothic basilica whose gargoyles are Ecuadorian animals: tortoises, iguanas, armadillos and condors. Ladders and narrow walkways lead up into the towers and across the roof, with the whole old town spread out below.
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TeleferiQo - cable car up Pichincha
scenic adventure 👍 PopularThe cable car lifts you from the western edge of the city to around 4,000 m on the flanks of Pichincha, with views over the whole valley and, on clear days, the volcanoes beyond. Acclimatised walkers continue on foot towards the summit of Rucu Pichincha.
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Mitad del Mundo - straddle the equator
culture arts scenic 👍 PopularThe Ciudad Mitad del Mundo monument marks the equator line north of the city, with a museum and plaza around it. The GPS line actually runs a short walk away, near the Intinan museum, where guides demonstrate water draining and eggs balancing.
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Capilla del Hombre - Guayasamin's chapel of man
culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedOswaldo Guayasamin, Ecuador's best-known painter, designed this monument to the people of Latin America, filled with his huge canvases on indigenous suffering and resistance. His house and collection next door overlook the valley from the Bellavista hills.
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El Panecillo - the winged Virgin of Quito
scenic historyA tall aluminium statue of the winged Virgin stands on the hill at the southern edge of the old town, looking out over the colonial centre and the long valley. Go up by taxi rather than walking the stairs.
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La Ronda - the old town's colonial lane
food nightlife musicA restored narrow street of balconied houses that comes alive in the evening, with craft workshops, music and stalls selling empanadas and canelazo, the hot spiced drink of the highlands.
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Mercado Central - Quito's home cooking
foodThe covered market near the old town is the place to try locro de papa, the potato and cheese soup served with avocado, along with fritada, hornado roast pork and fresh fruit juices from the stalls.
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Casa del Alabado - pre-Columbian art
history culture artsA colonial house near San Francisco displays ceramics, stone and gold from Ecuador's ancient cultures, arranged around ideas of the cosmos and the afterlife rather than by date.
Best areas to stay in Quito
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Centro Historico
First-time visitors $$Colonial plazas, churches and restored mansions
Explore hotels in Centro Historico →
La Floresta
Local feel $$Bohemian residential streets, cafes and art cinema
Explore hotels in La Floresta →
La Mariscal
Budget and nightlife $Backpacker hub of hostels and bars
Explore hotels in La Mariscal →
La Carolina
Comfort and business $$$Modern business district beside a big park
Explore hotels in La Carolina →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Quito
Getting to & around Quito
Getting there
Fly into UIO at Tababela, east of the city, about an hour by road to the centre depending on traffic.
Flight
Mariscal Sucre International (UIO)
The airport sits on the plateau east of the city, across the Guayllabamba valley. Taxis and app rides take roughly 45 min to over an hour to the new town or old town, and airport shuttle buses run into the city.
Coach
Quitumbe terminal (south) or Carcelen terminal (north)
Long-distance buses from the south, including Banos, Latacunga, Riobamba, Cuenca and Guayaquil, use Quitumbe; buses from Otavalo, Ibarra and the north use Carcelen. Both are far from the centre, so allow time to cross the city
Getting around
Taxis and app rides
The easiest way between the old and new towns, and the safe choice after dark
TBC
Metro
A single north-south line under the valley, with a station in the old town at San Francisco
TBC
Trolebus and Ecovia
Trolleybus and rapid bus lines on their own lanes along the long north-south axis; crowded at peak hours, so watch your bag
TBC
Walking
The old town is best on foot, but hills and altitude make it slower going than it looks
Free
Day trips from Quito
Mitad del Mundo
Half dayEquator line
The equator monument and the Intinan museum nearby, where you can stand across the line. Combine it with the Pululahua crater, a farmed volcanic caldera with a lookout over its floor.
Getting there
car | bus | tour
45 min-1 hr by taxi, tour or bus north to San Antonio de Pichincha
Otavalo
Full dayIndigenous market town
The Plaza de los Ponchos is one of the best-known markets in the Andes, run by Kichwa Otavalo weavers, and it spreads across town on Saturdays. Add the Peguche waterfall or the Cuicocha crater lake.
Getting there
bus | car | tour
About 2 hr by bus or car north on the Panamericana
Cotopaxi National Park
Full daySnow-capped volcano
The near-perfect glaciated cone of Cotopaxi above the high paramo, with wild horses and the Limpiopungo lagoon at its foot. Day visitors drive high up the flank and walk towards the refuge; summit climbs need a guide and acclimatisation.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1.5-2 hr by car or tour south
Mindo
1-2 daysCloud forest village
A village in the cloud forest on the western slope, famous for birding, with hummingbirds, tanagers and toucans, plus butterfly gardens, waterfall trails and chocolate tours. Doable in a day, better with a night.
Getting there
bus | car | tour
About 2 hr by bus or car northwest down the Andes
Papallacta
Full dayHot springs
Thermal pools high in the paramo on the road to the Amazon, steaming against misty green hills. The surrounding reserve has high-altitude walking trails and lakes.
Getting there
car | bus
About 1.5 hr by car or bus east over the Andes
A little history of Quito
The valley was home to the Quitu and Cara peoples before it became the northern capital of the Inca empire under Huayna Capac. As the Spanish advanced, the Inca general Ruminahui is said to have burned the city rather than surrender it, and Sebastian de Benalcazar founded San Francisco de Quito on the ruins in 1534. Under Spain it became the seat of the Real Audiencia de Quito, and its churches and convents were filled by the Quito School, whose carvers and painters were famous across the colonies.
Quito's 1809 revolt was one of the first calls for independence in Spanish America, earning it the name Luz de America. Freedom came in 1822, when Antonio Jose de Sucre won the Battle of Pichincha on the volcano's slopes above town. After a spell in Gran Colombia, Quito became capital of Ecuador in 1830. In 1978 its historic centre was among the first places inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Quito becomes the northern capital of the Inca empire under Huayna Capac
Sebastian de Benalcazar founds San Francisco de Quito on the ruins of the Inca city
Spain creates the Real Audiencia de Quito, making the city a regional seat of colonial government
La Compania de Jesus is completed after more than 150 years of building
Quito's revolt of 10 August is one of the first calls for independence in Spanish America
Sucre wins the Battle of Pichincha above the city, ending Spanish rule
Ecuador leaves Gran Colombia and Quito becomes its capital
The railway from Guayaquil reaches Quito, linking the capital to the coast
The historic centre is among the first sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Limited
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type A / B
120 V, 60 Hz
Dialing
+593
Altitude risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Ecuador eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Quito
▸ When is the best time to visit Quito?
June to September is the drier, brighter stretch, and December and January are good months too. There is no bad season: in the wetter months mornings are often clear and the rain tends to come as afternoon showers. The drier months are also the best window for clear views of the volcanoes and for climbing them.
▸ Will the altitude affect me in Quito?
Quite possibly. At around 2,850 m many visitors feel breathless or get a headache on the first day or two. Take it easy, drink plenty of water, go light on alcohol and save the TeleferiQo hike and Cotopaxi for after you have adjusted.
▸ How many days do you need in Quito?
Two days covers the old town, the TeleferiQo and Mitad del Mundo. Three to five lets you add Otavalo, Cotopaxi or Mindo, which is the real reason many people base themselves here.
▸ Is the Mitad del Mundo monument on the real equator?
Not quite. The monument was placed using older survey measurements, and GPS puts the line a short walk away, close to the Intinan museum. Both sites are next to each other, so most visitors see the two.
▸ Is Quito a good base for the Galapagos?
Yes. Flights to the islands leave from both Quito and Guayaquil, and many itineraries combine a few days in Quito, for altitude, history and the highlands, with the islands either side.
▸ Is Quito safe for visitors?
Take ordinary big-city care. Pickpocketing is common on crowded buses and in markets, the old town empties at night, and La Mariscal sees petty theft after dark, so use taxis or app rides in the evening. Go up El Panecillo by taxi rather than on foot. Nationwide protests can occasionally block roads out of the city, so check your own government's current advice.
More in Ecuador
Cuenca
The best-preserved colonial city in Ecuador, on a river terrace in the Andes, where the panama hat is actually made.
✓ best May-FebGalapagos (Puerto Ayora)
The one place on earth where the wildlife ignores you: an equatorial volcanic archipelago that handed Darwin the theory of evolution.
✓ best all yearGuayaquil
Ecuador's hot, hungry port city and the main gateway to the Galapagos.
✓ best May-Aug, Oct-Nov