DESTINATIONS QUITO LATIN AMERICA 09.00: Quito Cathedral 14.00: Pululahua volcano


ASK THE EXPERT


Sarah Ahern Polar & Americas product manager, Exodus “Often used as a gateway to the Galapagos, Quito is regularly bypassed by travellers looking to explore further afield, but Ecuador’s capital shouldn’t be missed. Set high in the Andes and enclosed by dramatic mountain peaks, Quito is an energetic city brimming with market stalls, bustling bars and a refined gastronomic scene. The highlight is the old town, which showcases its colonial past with 17th-century facades and pretty plazas.”


booth and strips naked, before the healer beats them with sprigs of the prescribed herb. En route back to Plaza de la Independencia, keep an eye out for the piñata shops, which fill this part of Quito. They come in all shapes and sizes – popular options include Minions and (presumably for more mature customers) beer cans.


11.00: Satisfy hunger pangs at Casa Gangotena, a restaurant tucked inside a restored mansion overlooking Plaza San Francisco. Recommend the bonitísimas (corn patties made with quinoa and trout) or one of the restaurant’s legendary ceviches. Try El Origen, which hails from Ecuador’s Manabí province, and is served with avocado and peanuts. casagangoteca.com


12.00: The middle of the day is the perfect time to visit the middle of the earth. To complicate things, Quito has two. For years, tourists flocked to the government-funded Middle of the World Park to stand on a line said to be the highest point on the planet’s midpoint, at zero degrees latitude. Unfortunately, it wasn’t – something which came to light when a GPS- equipped tourist pointed out that the real thing was a few hundred metres away. Bizarrely, the government- funded version still stands, complete with souvenir shops and signposts listing distances to Paris and London. The real Middle of the Earth, a few hundred metres away, is infinitely more interesting. Knowledgeable guides lead tours of the site, which includes a replica of an indigenous village. At the


equator line, they conduct fascinating experiments, including one that proves that water drains in opposite directions either side of the midpoint.


14.00: A 20-minute drive from Quito will take you to the Pululahua volcano. Its crater is home to a small (and brave) farming community, and the area, known as the Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve, has a wide range of wildlife, including spectacled bears and several species of big cat. If energy levels dip after a stroll around the slopes, make a beeline for El Cráter restaurant, which teeters on the rim, for some cocoa tea. elcrater.com


15.00: Head to the nearby Yunguilla community for a tour of this


11.00: Casa Gangotena 72travelweekly.co.uk6 December 2018


PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK; GABRIEL GONZALEZ/ETRAFOTO


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