Located at 9,000 feet above sea level, Quito - the capital of Ecuador- is one of the most beautiful cities that I have visited. Straddling a long and narrow valley, the city lies at the foot of the still active Pichincha volcano. Old Quito, a UNESCO world heritage site, has a lot of ambiance with its outstanding colonial architecture and steep cobblestone streets. Illuminated by the many street lamps in the area, the buildings in the old quarter have a magical golden glow at night. For an excellent panoramic view of the city, I recommend that you go to El Panecillo, the large hill topped by a statue of La Virgen de Quito. Located a couple miles outside the old city, the view especially after sunset is magnificent

Old Quito throbs with activity during the daylight hours, however at night almost all businesses are closed and the area is literally deserted with the exception of the police who are stationed at almost every corner and the occasional pickpocket who is looking for an easy mark. What must come as a shock to some people, the official currency in Ecuador is the same as the United States – the US dollar; this has been the situation since 1999. Bills come in various denominations - 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100. Quito is also very affordable – a delicious fruit shake or smoothie costs only 50 cents and a strong cup of coffee about one dollar. I didn’t see any Starbuck cafes at all, a welcome relief!

Comparing to Quito to Cusco in Peru - I liked Quito a lot more as it wasn’t overrun with tourists, street vendors, curio and souvenir shops.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 10:56 am and is filed under Ecuador, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.