📰 Quito · page 3

Bicentenario

Parque Bicentenario is the second-largest urban park in Quito (surpassed only by the Parque Metropolitano), located in the site of the Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport.263 It was inaugurated on 27 April 2013.264 This park has 200 acres, and is 2800 m above mean sea level.265 The former runway has been converted into recreational space with lanes painted for bicycles and pedestrians.266 There are play structures and games for children.267 As well, there is outdoor exercise equipment for adults.268 The park contains a man-made pond and more than one thousand trees, many newly planted.269 The park also hosts cultural exhibits and outdoor concerts.270

La Carolina

La Carolina[59] is a 165.5-acre (670,000 m2) park in the center of the Quito main business area, bordered by Av.271 Río Amazonas, Av. de los Shyris, Av.272 Naciones Unidas, Av.273 Eloy Alfaro, and Av. de la República.274 This park started from the expropriation of the farm La Carolina in 1939.275 The design of the park was made by the Dirección Metropolitana de Planificación Territorial (DMPT).276 At the south of the park, the Cruz del Papa (Pope's Cross) was erected on the site where Pope John Paul II headed a great mass during his visit to Ecuador in 1985.[60]277

El Ejido

El Ejido[61] is the fourth-largest park of Quito (after Metropolitan, Bicentenario and La Carolina), and it divides the old part of the city from the modern one.278 This park is known for handicrafts available for sale every Saturday and Sunday, with all pricing subject to negotiation (that is, haggling).279 Local painters sell copies of paintings by Oswaldo Guayasamín,[62] Eduardo Kingman, and Gonzalo Endara Crow.280 Otavaleños sell traditional sweaters, ponchos, carpets, and jewelry.281

Guápulo

Set on the side on a cliff with González Suárez Street, one of the most famous in Quito and to the other side the valley and further in the distance, the Amazon Jungle.282 Guápulo is a district of Quito, Ecuador, also called an electoral parish (parroquia electoral urbana).283 The parish was established as a result of the October 2004 political elections when the city was divided into 19 urban electoral parishes.[63]284 Set behind Hotel Quito, the neighborhood of Guápulo runs down the winding Camino de Orellana, from Av.285 González Suárez to Calle de los Conquistadores, the main road out of Quito and to the neighboring suburbs.[64][65]286 Often considered an artsy, bohemian neighborhood of Quito, Guápulo is home to many local artists and a couple of hippy cafés/bars.287 Every year on 7 September the Guapuleños honor their neighborhood with the Fiestas de Guápulo, a fantastic celebration complete with costumes, parade, food, drink, song, dance, and fireworks.288

La Alameda

The long triangular La Alameda is at the beginning of street Guayaquil, where the historic center begins.289 It has an impressive monument of Simón Bolívar at the apex.290 There are several other interesting monuments in this park.291 In the center of the park is the Quito Observatory, which was opened by President García Moreno in 1873.292 It is used for both meteorology and astronomy.293 At the north end of the park are two ornamental lakes, where rowboats can be rented.294

La Floresta

One of the most iconic neighborhoods in the city, with an important cultural and gastronomic offer.295 The neighborhood has local and international restaurants, a cinema, small theaters, cafes, bars, museums and coworking spaces.296

TeleferiQo

Main article: TelefériQo

The Aerial tramway Station at Cruz Loma (part of the Pichincha mountain complex at about 4000 m).297 Since July 2005, Quito has had an aerial tramway, known as the "Telefériqo", from the city center to the hill known as Cruz Loma on the east side of the Pichincha volcano.298 The ride takes visitors to an elevation of about 4100 m. There are also trails for hiking and areas where pictures can be taken of Quito.299 Because of the increased elevation and the wind on the mountain, it is considerably cooler.300

Besides the aerial tramway to Cruz Loma, the Telefériqo as a whole is a visitor center that includes an amusement park (Vulqano Park), fine-dining restaurants, Go Karts, Paint Ball, shopping malls, an extensive food court, and other attractions.301

Outside the city

La Mitad del Mundo[66] (the middle of the world) is a small village administered by the prefecture of the province of Pichincha, 35 km north of Quito.302 It has since been determined, with the use of Global Positioning System technology, that the actual equator is some 240 m north of the monument area.303 Nearby is the Intiñan Solar Museum, which may be closer to the true equator.[67]304 The Intiñan Solar Museum provides a demonstration which purports to show the Coriolis force causing a clockwise rotation of sink water a few meters south of the equator and a counterclockwise rotation a few meters north,[68] but many scientific sources claim that this is implausible.[69][70][71][72][73]305

Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve, located a few miles northwest from La Mitad del Mundo, contains the Pululahua volcano, whose caldera (crater) is visible from a spot easily accessible by car.306 It is believed to be one of only a few in the world with human inhabitants.307

Quito Zoo,[74] located near the rural parish of Guayllabamba, about 20 km outside Quito, has the biggest collection of native fauna in Ecuador, including several kinds of animals that are sometimes targeted in Ecuador in the illegal fur trade.308 The Zoo works in conservation and education in Ecuador and has successfully bred the endangered Andean condor.309

Maquipucuna Reserve is in Quito's rural parish of Nanegal.310 This 14,000 acre high biodiversity rainforest and cloud forest reserve protects over 1966 species of plants[75] (10% of Ecuador's plant diversity) and close to 400 bird species.311 This reserve, which is surrounded by a 34,000 acre protected forest, was declared an IBA (Important Bird Area) in 2005[76] and is the core of the conservation corridor for the spectacled bear (Andean bear) declared in 2013.[77]312 The area has an ecolodge located in the northern end of the Reserve where the spectacled bear can be sighted for about two months every year.313

Some of the other nearby natural attractions are:314

• Maquipucuna Reserve Conservation, community projects, bird watching, spectacled bear watching315
• Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve conservation and bird watching lodge316
• Cayambe – Coca Ecological Reserve317
• Papallacta & Oyacachi thermal springs318
• Cotopaxi National Park319
• Mindo Nambillo cloud forest320
• Illiniza volcano321
• Pasochoa Wildlife Refuge322
• Pichincha volcano with its peaks Wawa Pichincha and Ruku Pichincha323

Culture

See also: Quito School

Quito is a city with a mix of modern-day and traditional culture.324 There is a large Catholic presence in Quito; most notably, Quito observes Holy Week with a series of ceremonies and rituals that begin on Palm Sunday.325 At noon on Good Friday, the March of the Penitents proceeds from the Church of San Francisco.[78]326

Education

Universities

According to the National Council for Higher Education of Ecuador (CONESUP), these are the universities founded in or around Quito before 2006:[79]327

Libraries

One of the oldest and most important libraries in Ecuador is the Central University Library in Quito.328 It was founded in 1586 and has 170,000 volumes in its possession.[80]329 The Aurelio Espinoza Polit in Cotocollao, Casas de la Cultura and Catholic University are also important ones.330

Museums

• National Museum of Ecuador – This art and archaeology museum in the House of Ecuadorian Culture houses five displays.331 Each covers a different time period, ranging from prehistory to modern Ecuador.[81]332
• Centro de Arte Contemporaneo – Located north of Basilica del Voto Nacional, this museum has permanent and temporary exhibitions.333 The historic building used to be a military hospital and was renovated for its new purpose.334
• Casa del Alabado – Located just south of Plaza San Francisco, this is the Old Town's newest museum and houses a collection of pre-colonial art.335 The building is one of the oldest houses in the city.336
• Museo de la Ciudad – A museum dedicated to the history of Quito.337 Located just east of the Plaza de Santo Domingo,[82] it is housed in the buildings of the former San Juan de Dios Hospital, a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site.338
• La Capilla del Hombre – A museum showcasing the work of legendary Ecuadorian Artist Oswaldo Guayasamín339
• Ecuador National Museum of Medicine – A museum dedicated to the history of medicine[83] in Quito, founded by Eduardo Estrella Aguirre.340 Estrella was in the Archives of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Madrid, Spain in 1985 and uncovered the lost papers and paintings documenting one of the first expeditions to South America.341 In Madrid Spain, Estrella worked for many years and documented his observations in the archive and was able to publish the extensive work of Juan Tafalla in a book called Flora Huayaquilensis.342
• Museum House of Sucre – This museum is dedicated to life of Mariscal Antonio José de Sucre, a hero of Ecuadorian independence.343 The ground floor has an array of weapons and military relics, many of which belonged to Sucre himself.344 The second floor has been restored to what it might have looked like in Sucre's time.[84]345

Sports

Quito is home to several prominent football clubs in the country.346 The city's top clubs (LDU Quito, El Nacional), as well as Deportivo Quito, Aucas and Independiente del Valle have won 33 league titles, 4 Copa Ecuador, and 3 Ecuadorian Supercups, adding to a total of 40 national championships.347 Deportivo Quito was also the first out of the three home teams to win the title.348 Furthermore, Quito is the only city in Ecuador which has clubs that have won continental titles.349 LDU Quito is Ecuador's most successful team, as it is the only club from the country to have won the Copa Libertadores, in 2008, as well as four more international titles.[85]350 The other club is Independiente del Valle, which won the CONMEBOL Sudamericana in 2019 and 2022, as well as the Recopa Sudamericana in 2023,[86] adding on to eight continental titles for the city and the country.351 El Nacional is the third most titled team in Ecuador's history, with 13 league titles and 2 Copa Ecuador.[87]352 América de Quito is one of the most traditional clubs in the city, but has recently played in the lower divisions.353

The professional teams in the city are:354

• América de Quito355
• Aucas356
• Deportivo Quito357
• El Nacional358
• Liga Deportiva Universitaria (LDU)359
• Universidad Católica360

An interesting fact about Quito is that the stadiums are located over 2,800 m above sea level, which generally means that there is an advantage for the local teams when they play against foreign teams, and it has helped the Ecuadorian national team to qualify for four World Cups.[88]361

Crime

See also: Crime in Ecuador

The U.S. Department of State notes that petty theft is the most common crime issue facing tourists in Quito,[89] stating in 2015: "Pickpocketing, purse snatching, robbery, bag slashing, and hotel room theft are the most common types of crimes committed against U.S. citizens."[90]362

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has stated that about 70% of the world's cocaine now transits through Ecuador's ports before onward shipment to the US and Europe.363 The Ecuadorian security crisis includes several criminal gangs competing for control over major drug routes.364

In 2025, Quito saw a 32% increase in homicides, in the months of January through May, compared to 2024.365 Quito is seen as a "consumer market" by organized criminal groups, including drug gangs.[91]366

Notable people

• Teresa de Ahumada, Discalced Carmelite nun (1566–1610)367
• Jorge Carrera Andrade, poet (1902–1978)368
• Christian Benítez, footballer (1986–2013)369
• Chico Borja, footballer and coach (1959–2021)[92]370
• Ramiro Borja, footballer[93]371
• Polo Carrera, footballer (b. 1945)372
• Sebastián Cordero, film director (b. 1972)373
• Juan Manuel Correa, racing driver (b. 1999)374
• Eugenio Espejo, scientist (1747–1795)375
• Ana Estrella Santos, Ecuadorian professor, dialectologist, writer376
• Oswaldo Guayasamín, painter (1919–1999)377
• Jorge Icaza, novelist (1906–1978)378
• Juana Miranda, midwife and professor (1842–1914)379
• Mariana de Jesús de Paredes, Catholic saint (1618–1645)380
• Manuela Sáenz, revolutionary (1797–1856)381
• Byron Sigcho-Lopez, politician and community activist (b. 1983)382
• Teodelinda Terán Hicks, cellist (1889–1959)383
• Christian Zurita, journalist and former presidential candidate (b. 1970)384
• José Velasco Ibarra, former president of Ecuador (1893–1979)385
• Tábata Gálvez, actress, conductor, and cheerleader386

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in South America § Ecuador

Quito is twinned with:387

• Bogotá corpus, Colombia[94]388
• Cádiz, Spain[95]389
• Doha corpus, Qatar[96]390
• Guangzhou, China[97]391
• Guarulhos, Brazil[98]392
• Kraków, Poland[99]393
• Lima corpus, Peru[100]394
• Louisville, United States[101]395
• Madrid corpus, Spain[102]396
• Managua corpus, Nicaragua[103]397
• Medellín, Colombia[104]398
• Mexico City corpus, Mexico[105]399
• La Paz corpus, Bolivia[106]400
• Taipei corpus, Taiwan[107]401
• Asunción corpus, Paraguay[108]402

See also

List of cities in Ecuador

Pichincha Province

Metropolitan District of Quito

Ciudad Mitad del Mundo

Bibliography

See also: Timeline of Quito § Bibliography

External links

Explore the City of Quito in the UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture