Day 1
- El Panecillo
- Plaza Grande aka Independence Square
Flight from Miami to Quito was 4hrs long and we landed on time at about 2pm. We took an uber to our hotel Adamas in old city. The traffic was quite horrific as we entered the old city and so we got off our cab and walked the last 200m which was much faster. It was after 4pm when we were ready to check out Quito sites.
An interesting fact about Quito is that the entire city along with Galapagos island was crowned the very first UNESCO World Heritage site in the world.
We started our site seeing with a visit to El Panecillo. We took a taxi arranged by the hotel (at $9/hour) to El Panecillo, one of the city’s top attractions. It is located on the south side of Old Town, perched high on the hill overlooking Quito. This major landmark in Quito is home to the La Virgen de Quito, a luminous Madonna statue that was constructed in 1976 entirely of aluminum by Spanish artist, Agustin de la Herran Matorras. The views of Quito were epic from here. For $1 one can climb the steps up to the base of the statue for the better view of Quito.
After spending about an hour at El Panecillo, we asked the cab driver to drop us off at plaza Grande. Also known as Independence Square, this plaza is bordered by the Presidential Palace, City Hall, Cathedral, and the Archbishop’s Palace. $2/person to visit the church and a small museum at the back of the church. The plaza was really crowded and had a festive atmosphere. Cafes line the ground floor of Archbishops palace.
Day 2
- View of Quito from Cruz Loma
- Basilica of La Merced
- Plaza de San Francisco
- La Compañia de Jesús
- Basilica del Voto Nacional
We started the day by taking a cab from our hotel to Teleferico cable car. The 20 min cable car ride would take one to Cruz Loma mountain peak for a breathtaking view of Quito and nearby volcanoes. Unfortunately, the cable car was closed that day and the week before and for the next 2 weeks. An employee of Teleferico offered to take us in his truck all the way up and back for $40. The ride was on unpaved path, bumpy and 50 min long but so worth the money and time spent. Once you reach the top, you get views of Quito at various view points, view of the Rucu Pichincha and Gaugua Pichincha if there is no cloud cover.
You can hike to the peak Rucu Pichincha volcano (5 hour round trip) – we skipped this. We spent about an hour at the top enjoying the view and taking many pictures. The driver then dropped us off at our hotel.
We had a quick snack and coffee and the rest of the day was spent visiting plazas and churches. They were all within walking distance from our hotel. We first stopped at Basilica of La Merced. We then walked over to Plaza de San Francisco which is dominated by Basilica and Convent of San Francisco church.
Next stop was at La Compañia de Jesús. Both the exterior and interior of this church is jaw dropping. Seven tons of gold leaf covers all surfaces of this house of worship. Often called Quito’s Sistine Chapel, the structure was begun in 1605 and completed 160 years later. It is listed by UNESCO as one of the top 100 most important buildings in the world. It costs $8/person to tour the church and climb the dome. Amazing view of city and plaza de San Francisco from the top. If you have time to visit only one church in Quito, this certainly is the one.
Our last stop was a visit to Basilica del Voto Nacional. Visiting the inside of the church is $2/person, climb the tower $4/person. There is an elevator which will take you 2/3rds of the way. You will then have to climb up 5-6 floors. The view of the city was great from the tower. There are shops and cafes on 11th floor. We stopped at the cafe to have cacao tea. The cafe has some interesting chairs.
From its narrow, cobbled well preserved streets to exquisite churches and plazas, Quito is worth a visit.
The hotel (Adamas) we stayed in was riad style, quite comfortable and centrally located and within walking distance to most attractions in the old city.
Traffic was horrendous most of the time but we were able to walk to all the attractions and one can wander for hours here. Lots of uphill and downhill walking around Quito old town. We also felt safe within the old city mostly because we did not venture out after 8 pm. We stayed in Quito for 2 days which was a bit short. You need at least 4 days in Quito, especially if you would like to visit places like Otavalo market.