Quito: touch the sky
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Quito by nightfall, the Cotopaxi volcano on the background
 Juan Diego Perez  San Francisco church
Juan Diego Perez  La Merced Church
Arturo Castañeda  |
Quito takes its name from an ancient indigenous culture that lived in the area before Incan times (The Quitus), and becomes a city in 1534, after Spanish colonization. It is the place where the first Geodesic mission went to prove, scientifically, the roundness of the earth, in 1736.
Quito sits at 2.850 meters (9.350 feet) above sea level and it borders the Equator (latitude 0), so its climate is very unique; varying from an average of 24ºC during the day, to around 8ºC at night; with sunny mornings, cloudy afternoons, and cold nights.
In 1978, Quito was declared Cultural Patrimony of Mankind by UNESCO; its old town, the biggest historic centre in the Americas is a congregation of Colonial churches and monasteries, theatres, museums, and squares.
Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and volcanoes, the beautiful landscapes are another attraction of this city that gathers all kinds of visitors, who make of Quito their base during their journey in Ecuador.
