1 destination · 10 things to do

Ecuador

Quito is a capital strung along an Andean valley at nearly 2,850 metres, where a UNESCO-listed colonial centre of gilded churches and cobbled plazas sits beneath the slopes of Pichincha volcano. This guide books Quito properly: the Old Town on foot and with a food walk, the Baroque gold leaf of La Compañía de Jesús, the neo-Gothic Basílica del Voto Nacional with its tower climb, the TelefériQo cable car to nearly 4,000 metres, and the Mitad del Mundo equator monument. It then goes beyond the city with the day trips that define a trip to Ecuador, from the Otavalo craft market to a snow-capped Cotopaxi and the misty Mindo cloud forest. Two guides cover what to book and how to cope with altitude, and five hotels, from a restored mansion on Plaza San Francisco to a rooftop hostel, show where to sleep.