Quito cruise port guide

About Quito

Quito is the capital of Ecuador and the world's second-highest capital city at 2,850 m elevation, set in an Andean valley beneath the active Pichincha volcano. Its UNESCO World Heritage historic center, declared in 1978, is the largest and best-preserved colonial city center in the Americas, featuring over 40 churches and 16 convents, making it the primary gateway city for Galapagos-bound cruise passengers.

The historic center of Quito stretches across 320 hectares of hillside, encompassing more than 40 churches and 16 convents built in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Church of San Francisco (1535) is the oldest intact convent in South America. Plaza de la Independencia, flanked by the Presidential Palace and the colonial Archbishop's Palace, offers the quintessential Quito scene. The Mitad del Mundo monument, about 22 km north of the city, marks the equatorial line. The La Mariscal district north of the old city concentrates restaurants, the new National Museum, urban parks, and nightlife. Day trips reach Cotopaxi volcano (5,897 m) and Andean indigenous markets at Otavalo.