Quito. Beautiful Places to Visit

Igor Fox
Dec 25, 2025
10 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

Travel Ecuador, Part 1

HOLA, EVERYONE!

Well, You decided to finally make your dream true!... and go to Ecuador. But, you have only 14 day of your vacation, but you wanna experience the full beauty of this country. Well, you are in a right place! I was there 14 days and this little essay can be like a blueprint for you)))...

Or, maybe just curiosity brought you here, to my web site...)) Well, that was a good choice! And thank you for that)).

One way, or another, we are gonna dive into the beautiful joinery here, so let's begin this amazing trip!

But, let's start from the beginning...

I decided to go to Ecuador in the last minute..., kind of I have a free time, I have a dream... let's do it! So I contacted to the agent, which I met on one Travel Adventure Show in Toronto. At the beginning I just wanted to know the total price for the trip... but at the end of the day I already had tickets to Galapagos))... Well, eh, I contacted to the agent on Sunday, and on Thursday I was already on a plane to the place of my dreams))...

And let the joinery begin!

DAY 1 QUITO, Old City

I arrived to Quito at 8.35 am...

Just wanna say at the beginning here - everything was booked already for me, including a taxi. The guy from the travel agency made everything perfect, in a such short period of time which I gave him, he did just a great job.

So from the airport the taxi brought me to the old city of Quito. The taxi cost for me $25USD, but, I believe the real price was much less. I stayed at Quito Basecamp Hotel ($35/night) - pretty good and quiet place, and very close to the center of the Old City. But, if you'd like something cheaper and pretty cool..., but noisy too - The Secret Garden Hostel is right for you. But, little later about it.

So, not spending the time, I went to explore the Capital of Ecuador.

But, before that I was warned by my agent just to stay in a tourist area, because it can be pretty unsafe if I go somewhere farther, especially with all my cameras. Well, okay. So I took my two cameras and went to explore the Old City of Quito.

And the first place where I went was The Secret Garden Hostel, which was only 5 min away from my hotel. Well, this place definitely worth visiting! It's a backpackers hub. Pretty cool decoration of the walls, yummy food... and if you are extrovert - that place is definitely for you. And, it is possible to order many excursions around not only Quito, but all Ecuador in there.

The Secret Garden Hostel, Quito, Ecuador — Secret Garden Hostel, Quito, Ecuador

Oh, eh, and they had some cakes and local coffee, so I just couldn't resist it and had some... very yummy!... Well, after spending some time just exploring this place and a little snack I went outside.

Truly, I felt pretty safe walking there. Lots of police at the streets, lots of people. And people, they were smiling on camera, very friendly... People were friendly, but the weather... surprised me. I was going to the warm country, but, when I arrived and went outside - it was pretty chilly. Ups, I didn't expect that. Fortunately for me, I took some thermal clothing, which is light, thin and pretty warm. But it was in the morning. During the day the temperature rose up and it was pretty warm and comfortable. BTW, it was in June.

So, let's continue the tour))..

I didn't know, where I was going, just, walking, exploring the area. Everything was new for me. Small, old buildings, small streets, more than dozen mandarins just for $1USD (Btw, USD - it's the national currency in Ecuador). The streets brought me to the Independence Square.

I definitely went back to the past times. Everything was so different from what I've seen before... it was totally a new world for me... And, what also surprised me - that was the very clean streets, no garbage at all.

The rest of the day I just was exploring the area. And something new was opening for me all the time. A new Square, a new Basilica, local artists... Everything was so cool! And safe. And pretty close to each other.

Quito, Old City, Ecuador — Street in Quito, Ecuador

Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, Quito, Ecuador

Local Artist, Quito, Ecuador — Local artist, Quito, Ecuador

I was getting tired and hungry..., since Toronto I had only that little shack in the hostel))) ... But, everything was so interesting, so I just couldn't stop my exploration...))

And all of a sudden I smell this... fresh, roasted coffee... mmmm, I followed this amazing aroma... It brought me to the little kiosk, where a one young leady making a coffee. And she offered me a sample..., just a little bit, but that was enough. Wow! So yummy, bitter and very strong! I ordered one little cup... And wow again! All of a sudden so much energy filled up my body! The tiredness just disappeared, I was ready to walk and walk... And, of course I bought some coffee..., brought to Toronto and drink it sometimes, just enjoying the taste...

...It was evening already...

I was full. Full from positive emotions, such a wonderful first day in Ecuador!

I was full form emotions..., but my stomach still was empty...

My agent recommended some place where I could eat, close to hotel. So I went there. Jumandy Organic Garden Restaurant. Well, since I was very hungry, I ordered lots of food. Soup, shrimps, some non alcohol drink... and something else. The sizes was pretty big, the food was very yummy and it all costed me around $20.

The rain has started and I went back to the hotel. But the day wasn't over yet!

In the hotel I found out, that there is gonna be Salsa dance lesson later that day at The Secret Garden Hostel. So, I rested a bit and went to the hostel again...

-" The lesson is gonna be later" - they told me at the reception.

I came later, again... but it still was early for the lesson, because my clock at the phone didn't switch the time..., so I came back to my hotel again. I had some mandarins which I bought at the street (about dozen for $1). They were very yummy mandarins.

In my room I could hear a music playing from downstairs..., I went to see what is going on there... At the end, I missed the Salsa dance at the hostel, but instead... Just check my YouTube video from the Day 1, my dear reader... and Welcome to Ecuador!!!

DAY 2, QUITO, Ecuador

Boinos Dias, Ecuador!

Well, let's dive little deeper today to the places, which we visited yesterday, and let's explore the new!

For the second day my agent booked for me the excursion with CarpeDm Adventures Ecuador. It was the city tour. It costed me 60$ USD, meal and enters to the below places included.

The guide picked me up at 7.30am, after we vent to get couple of more tourists. It was a small group, total about 6 of us. We had a nice comfortable mini van.

Our day has started from visiting Basilica del Voto Nacional.

Basilica del Voto Nacional, Quito, Ecuador

Unfortunately, this place was closed at so early time, so we just looked at it from the street, while listening the guide, who was telling the history of the Basilica. After we went down by Venezuela street. Yup, Venezuela...)) In Ecuador))

It was early, it was a weekend, streets almost were empty. It was pretty quiet. Good time for a walk.

Shortly we've reached Plaza Grande (Independence Square). I was here the day before by myself, but it was nice to visit this place again and to know a bit of the history of the place from the guide.

Just wanna mention here. There is a very interesting place, exactly at the Plaza.

Hasta La Vuelta, Señor Restaurant.

I didn't eat there, but, I couldn't miss the opportunity just to walk around this place. So, I asked a waiter, can I do it without eating here. Got a positive answer and started my own excursion around the restaurant. Back in time. That's what I felt. I don't know, which century, I'm not an expert in history, but it was traveling far, far back.

Our next stop was one block down from the Plaza - Church of the Jesus (Church of La Compañía). Well, I can say, it is a very big church which was made from volcanic gray stone. They started to build it in 1605 and finished in 1765.

After this we've reached Plaza San Francisco, which is located almost at the corner from previous place. Yup, in Old City of Quito everything is pretty close to each other, which is very convenient for a tourist like me)))

This plaza also have its own basilica - Basilica and Convent of San Francisco.

It took more than a 100 years to complete this Basilica. The groundbreaking started in 1535 and they finished it 1650.... Yes, the Old City of Quito is very old. And very interesting!

And, across the basilica there is one more very... yummy place, I'd say)). Chocolate store, which is called Yumbos. So the guide brought us right there. And here the yummy and sweet part has started. Here you could try around 15 different types of chocolate. My favorite was chocolate mixed with coffee. And the brownie... So yummy! Exactly right amount of sweetness, not fatty..., it was just melted in my mouth... I've never tried something like this here in Canada.

Well, after sampling the time of selling came. And here, I can say, I made mistake. The prices were to expensive. Around $7 for 50gram bar. But I was so existed, that didn't care about the price at that time... I was thinking about it already later..)))

Well, after delicious snack we continued our day trip. The next stop was a street again one block down. And the place was Museo da la Ciudad. It used to be a hospital... 400 years old hospital... and in 1998 they made a museum from it.

We didn't go inside, this time.

The next stop was El Panecillo. This time our mini van brought us to the top pf the hill, where the statue of Virgin of the Panecillo is located. Because, it was a but far from the main area, and the second - the was there was a bit dangerous, like my guide told us. Even at the top, when we reached the place, we were warn that need to watch out our pockets and stuff and stay close to each other.

We were on the top, and could see the big part of the city of Quito. It was huge. Houses as far as you could see.

And it's time to tell You a little bit about this city.

So Quito is the capital of Ecuador and the second largest city in the country with population about 2.8 million ppl. Quito's elevation of 2,850 m (9,350 ft) makes it either the highest or the second highest national capital city in the world. The Spanish conquest of the city in 1534 is the date most frequently cited as the city's official founding, making Quito the oldest capital in South America. Quito's historic center is among the largest and best-preserved in the Americas.

Well, after the viewpoint, there was one more place to visit for us before the main place to visit in Quito. Our next stop was the caldera of the Pululahua volcano, which is 17 km north of Quito. This is one of only two volcanic craters in the world inhabited by humans (and the only one that is farmed). By the time I got there, I finally started to feel the altitude sickness. I was a bit dizzy, so I just had to wash my face and head with a cold water, it helped a bit.

Also at the place there is some little market, where you can buy some souvenirs..., or a cold water, so you could refresh yourself, as I did.

It was a nice view there, and, if you have extra time in Quito, this place is worth to visit.

Okay, the next stop was... - some local restaurant. You can find many of them on the way to the place. And everyone offers you the traditional food, which is very yummy, by the way. They have different options - fish, meat, vegetarian.

And, finally, the last stop for today in this excursion, but not for me. The Equator! And Intiñan Equator Museum. Well, Welcome, to latitude 0.00.00!

Finally, I'm here, after so many years of just dreaming about this place..:))

Intiñan Equator Museum, Ecuador — Intiñan Equator Museum

And this place is definitely worth visiting. At first, because it is the Equator! And that is already cool by itself. And the second - because they made a really good museum here. Indigenous culture, Amazon tribes, the line of the Equator..., and you can do some experiments here too which are connected to north and south hemisphere.

Equator, Ecuador, Intiñan Equator Museum, — Equator, Ecuador

Well, it was time to go back. There was another place, where we stopped pretty fast on our way back - The Middle of the World, which is 200m away from the place, where we just were. It used to the middle of the world..., before a new technology came, and showed, that the real equator is 240m away...

The minivan brought me back to the Old City of Quito. And, I still had some time before dark. Basilica del Voto Nacional, which was closed in the morning, this time was opened, and I couldn't miss the opportunity to visit it. The enter costed around 2UDS. I had only about 10 min before closing, I came right on time.

That was really nice and beautiful inside. And, I was lucky to see a wedding ceremony.