A week in Ecuador or two days in the capital: that is usually the choice, and this guide is written for the short end of it. Everyone advises spending the first days in Quito to acclimatise to the altitude, though arriving from Central America the change barely registered. Either way the city rewards the time, rich in culture and history, and small enough to cover the essentials fast. One blunt warning first: an attempted pickpocketing on day one was scary and also useful, a reminder not to get complacent late in a trip. All they got was a used tissue and a city map.
Getting oriented
Do what works everywhere and take the free walking tour on the first morning. It maps the centre, layers the history and costs a donation. From there the city divides neatly into the historic core, the viewpoints above it, and the day trips out.
What to see in the centre
The Old City and historic centre carry the weight of the visit. Use the main tourist buildings as anchors and plan a loose walking route between them, then let the streets decide the rest; getting deliberately lost here is the activity. Climb the basilica, the single best church for height and view, and budget a slow afternoon for the wandering around it.
- Old City and historic centre, walked without hurry.
- The basilica, climbed.
- Any square or church you pass that looks worth entering, entered.
Where to eat
The massive indoor market is the best single stop for local culture and food in one hit. One caution travels with it: some smoothie stalls use ice made from tap water, and the stomach consequences are the well-known kind. Vegetarians will find the options thinner and must look harder, but they exist. Cheap local food is the rule everywhere else, and finding the good vegetarian versions becomes a small daily quest.
The cable car and the swing at 4000 metres
The TeleferiQo lifts you up the flank of the Andes and ranks among the highest cable cars on earth. A group of us split a taxi to the lower station, rode up, then hiked onward to the swing that sits roughly 4000 metres above sea level. Swinging out over the city and the clouds is the kind of thing that sounds invented until you are doing it, and it is the capital's single most memorable half day.
The equator line
This close to the line, standing with one foot in each hemisphere is mandatory. The park at the site runs you through a series of activities demonstrating how the hemispheres change gravitational pull, which is exactly as fun as it sounds. Reach it either with a tour or on the local transport system from the centre; both are simple.
Day trips out
Quito doubles as a base for the country's interior, and the popular day trips run to the cloud and rain forest and to river tubing. Doing these as a separate trip rather than a day sprint is the better plan when time allows. Evenings back in town hold their own surprises: this was the first place karaoke bravery ever struck, and it stuck.
The next step
On altitude, take the first afternoon slowly even if you feel nothing, since the city sits high enough that the mismatch between how you feel and how your body is coping can catch up on day two with the cable car already booked.
Take the walking tour the first morning, book the TeleferiQo for the first clear afternoon, and keep your daypack zipped and in front in the market crowds; do those three and the city is yours.