Thing to do in Quito, Ecuador

I stopped writing my travel blogs from Ecuador onwards because throughout this time, I started to face some personal struggles and I didn’t want them to be reflected in my blogs. Now I’m back writing, I won’t let this impact my experience as my trip was still INCREDIBLE in every way.

I was only in Ecuador for just under two weeks so this will be least useful of all my blogs unless you also have limited time then I’m your gal! I spent the first few days in Quito as everyone said it helps you acclimatise but I didn’t feel much change in altitude coming from Central America. Quito is a nice city rich with culture and history. As always, I did a free walking tour to get used to my surroundings. The only negative experience I had was someone trying to pick pocket me but it was a blessing in disguise as honestly, I’d got very complacent by this time in my trip and needed the reminder (it was still a scary experience but luckily all they got was a snotty tissue & a city map).

Things to do in Quito

• Visit the massive indoor market to experience local culture and food (but be careful with the smoothies – some stores use ice from tap water and it will upset your stomach bali belly style)
• Try cheap local food! I’m veggie and it was a bit harder to find good options but they’re there if you look hard enough
• Get lost in the streets! There are some beautiful areas around Quito to discover, use the main tourist buildings to plan a route and see where it takes you. If you’re stuck for ideas, I recommend the Old City, historic centre & climb the basilica.
• Get the TelefériQo cable car up to the top of the Andes (it’s one of the highest in the world!) A group of us split the cost of a taxi to the bottom and did our own hike to the swing. There is something impressive about swinging 4000m above sea level and looking over the city/clouds
• When so close to the equator line, you have to go to the equator where you can have one foot in either hemisphere. There’s a fun park that will take you through a bunch of activities to show how the hemisphere changes gravitational pull. You can do this as a tour or just use the local transport system from the city centre.

From Quito there are also a tonne of fun day trips and evening entertainment. It was actually the first time I have ever been brave enough to join in on karaoke nights!! Some of the most popular day trips are to the cloud/rain forest or tubing. I did this as a separate trip and will be in my second post!

As always, any questions please leave them in the comments or check for more on my Instagram @lucystraveldiary