San Francisco de Quito<\/strong> was founded by Diego de Almagro<\/strong> on August 28, 1534. The city is built on the ruins of the most important Inca city in the region, one of the oldest in South America. In 1978, the city was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.<\/span> <\/a> <\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n Quito<\/strong> has about 2 million inhabitants and is literally surrounded by mountains. The city is located at an altitude of 2700 meters, which means that it has a micro-climate which makes it much cooler than the rest of the country.<\/p><\/p>\n\n In a program of 4 days I recommend you to see and do the following:<\/p>\n\n Located in the middle of the historic centre, also called “the Escoriaal of the New World”,<\/strong> it is the most impressive monument in Quito.<\/strong> In the church you will find the famous “Virgen de Quito<\/strong>” (Virgin of Quito). Admission to the church is free and you pay a small amount for entry to the monastery.<\/p><\/p>\n\n This is the main street in the historical center, the street is connected to “la Plaza (square) Santo Domingo”<\/strong>. In this street you will find the local craft shops, <\/strong>clothing, art galleries and also cafes and restaurants with typical local cuisine. On weekends it is pleasantly busy and a must-see for local food.<\/p><\/p>\n\n i.e. the cable car van Quito, which is the highest in South America. You start at 2950 m. altitude and you get off at 4050 m.\u00a0 on top of the Cruz Loma.<\/strong> It’s the perfect place for a walk. Or a trip through the Andes mountains<\/strong> to one of the peaks of the Pichincha<\/strong> volcano, the Rucu Pichincha.<\/strong> The tour is cool, almost in a straight line and almost flat. besides that, it offers one of the most beautiful views over the city of Quito.<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n The design resembles some European cathedrals. It is shaped like a Gothic cross and has one of the tallest towers, 115 meters high. You will find it in the San Juan <\/strong>district, in the middle of the historic center. It is incredibly impressive and beautiful, you should really take the time to see this gigantic and beautiful cathedral.<\/p>\n\n Plaza Grande<\/strong> (the main square) also called Plaza de la Independencia<\/strong> (square of independence), this is the main square of Quito. Here you will find the Palacio de Gobierno<\/strong> (Government Palace), the Cathedral de Quito<\/strong> with its baroque architecture and Gothic interior. You will also find here the town hall, a cultural centre and a hotel. It is one of the most important places for the government and a section is only accessible to pedestrians. You will also find people in their original costumes who sell alpaca<\/strong> wool scarves made by them.<\/p><\/p>\n\n We noticed how organized they are here and how important it is to them, to share their heritage. We were able get the entrance with only our passports. Within half an hour we were at the entrance and, after the security check, we went inside. Admission is completely free. Unfortunately, the president wasn’t there that day. The guide told us about the history of the building, how it functions and showed us the halls. At the end of the tour we also got a picture they had taken earlier in the garden.<\/p>\n\n The tour takes 45 minutes and the entrance goes in groups of 15, every 15 minutes. You do need a passport to get in. The ticket you can get at an information booth nearby. The change of the honor guard is at 9:00, usually with the president present. The walls are decorated with works by artists from Ecuador and you will also find some famous Ecuadorean roses here.<\/p>\n\n Several companies organize bike rides through the mountains, for all levels. A cool experience! You’ll be brought up the mountain and then you’ll descend with a mountain bike, we went with Arie’s Bike Company.<\/span> <\/a> <\/strong> In addition to the bikes, Arie also provided coffee, water, fruit and a delicious sandwich for lunch. The views are fantastic. We visited a place in the tropical rainforest where you can photograph all types of hummingbirds<\/strong> up close. The tour ends with a visit to the Inti\u00f1an<\/strong> museum.<\/p><\/p>\n\n Inti\u00f1an Museum<\/strong>, which means the way of the sun (San Antonio de Pichincha) <\/strong>and “La Mitad de Mundo”<\/span> <\/a>Museum<\/strong>. You should not miss out on these, here they show you how the people used to live and what their habits were. They show you how the magnetic field at the equator, at 00\u00b000 \u030100″ latitude, behaves. The visit takes about an hour. As you could read above, we visited this museum at the end of our bike ride, a great combination.<\/p><\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/janhbos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/quito-iglesia-san-francisco.png\")
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