Quito offers the best travel connections to anywhere else within Ecuador and is only a half hour flight time from the Amazon Basin, 21/2 hours from the Galapagos Islands and less than two hours to the north is Otavalo, South America's largest and most famous Indian Market.

If you decide not to fly and travel by road, the "Royal Road of the Incas" now known as the Pan-American Highway will transport you to Cotopaxi National Park, site of the world's highest active volcano.

Although no vaccinations are required to enter Ecuador, some precautions should be taken in order to ensure a healthy visit. It is recommended that prior to arrival, all students should consult their physician about the necessary injections. Students should be protected against typhoid, polio, tetanus and hepatitis.

A yellow fever vaccination is only required if you are going to the jungle. Those students enrolling in the SierrAzul program must be aware that the jungle area is high risk for Yellow Fever and a vaccination for Yellow Fever is necessary.

Quito is almost twice as high as Denver, Colorado but because it sits only 25 kilometer's from the Equator, the city does not suffer through long winters. On the contrary, Ecuador's capital enjoys mild days and cool nights almost year-round. The climate in the Andes varies according to the altitude and the time of the year. In Quito the temperature ranges from 7 degrees C (55 F) at night to 26 C (78 F) at noon, and averages 15 C (64 F).

There are two seasons, wet and dry. The wet season is called winter and the dry is considered summer. Quito's summer lasts about 4 months, from the end of June to September.

Quito sees its fair share of rain from October through May, though even during this period the climate supports a multitude of diversions. There are enough sunny days during the rainy season to accommodate all but the most insatiable sun worshipers, and when the sun hides, Quito has plenty to offer indoors.

Our program allows you plenty of time to discover your new country, culture and customs. Below are some of our recommended highlights.

city tour
Take a guided tour of the colonial center of Quito. As a UNESCO World Heritage site, modern buildings are forbidden, therefore, old town has retained its colonial charm despite the city's modernization. Tours include such sites as the Plaza de Independencia, the monastery of San Francisco and its accompanying museum, and El Panecillo.

From the top of El Panecillo at the south end of the colonial district, you can get an expansive view of the capital as well as a close-up of the statue of winged Virgin of Quito at the hills summit. Some tours contrast old and new with a visit to the museum of Guayasamin, celebrating Ecuador's most famous contemporary artist. A tour of colonial Quito can be done in a morning, but Quito´s niches and corners will take at least a few days to thoroughly take in.

visit local museums
The city has many interesting museums including: the Museo Arte Colonial, Museo Aurelio Espinoza Polit, Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales Museo Casa de Sucre, Museo del Convento de San Diego, Museos de La Casa de La Cultura Ecuatoriana, Centro Cultural del Instituto Geográfico Militar, Museo Antroplógico Shuar, Museo Etnográfico y de Ciencias Naturales Colegio Nacional Mejía, Museo Etnográfico Museo Fundación Guayasamin, Museo de La Ciudad, Casa Museo Manuela Saenz.

plaza san francisco
The foundation of the San Francisco place goes back to 1534. Very quickly after its foundation, Quito became a town of art. Between XVIth and XVIIth century, a so great number of remarkable buildings was built, that today, Quito presents, as a whole, as much of interest than a museum in the open air.

pichincha volcano
The Pichincha volcano culminates at 4776 meter's. Quito is located between the high plateau of Turubamba and Rumibamba, which was already inhabited by Indios at the pre-Columbian time. In spite of the foothills of the site, the founders considered that it was possible to create a city there even if its plan were to look like a true chess-board. It worth doing some hiking.

hot springs
About 2 hours east of Quito on the road to Baeza, rest the hot springs of Papallacta. The baths range from ice cold to hot as hell. Weekday visits are recommended over weekends, as the resort can become quite crowded on Saturday and Sunday. The pools at La Merced are somewhat nearer to Quito, but most operators arrange tours to the more scenic Papallacta area.

markets
Local towns that surround Quito offer markets any day of the week. The most famous, Otavalo, buzzes seven days a week, however, the best day to go is on Saturday. Artisans, weavers, and vendors of every sort come from miles around to share their ware with the world. For last minute gift shopping in Quito, Park Ejido, across the street from the Hotel Colon, hosts a weekend market. There are also smaller, less touristy markets in towns such as Zumbagua and Guangaje.

Market schedule:
Sunday: Santa Domigo de los Colorados, Otavalo, and Park Ejido in Quito
Tuesday: Latacunga, Otavalo
Wednesday: Pujili, Otavalo
Thursday: Saquisili, Otavalo
Saturday: Otavalo, Latacunga, and Park Ejido in Quito, and Mitad del Mundo

la mitad del mundo
Literally "The Middle of the World," this monument marks the spot where in 1736 Charles-Marie de la Condamine's scientific expedition made measurements that verified the location of the equator. Hosting a model of colonial Quito, a planetarium, a ethnographic museum, and a number of restaurants, this monument is a very popular attraction.

Also, the brilliant yellow line splitting the world in two, makes for an irresistible photo opportunity with a foot in each hemisphere. The ecuator line is at 24 km in the north of Quito. At this place, a monument rises whose base has the shape of an obelisk on which rests a stone globe.

According to calculations which made of the astronomers in 1949, the line of the equator passes in truth, 8 km more to the south and is represented, in the south of Cayambe by a small concrete sphere.

the galapagos islands
Many students take a few days to visit these dramatic and beautiful islands that lie on the Equator, 600 miles west of Ecuador and the South American coastline. They were formed as a result of intense volcanic activity and are still among the most volcanic islands in the world.

The isolation of the islands has permitted certain species of animals to evolve in isolation. These animals are found nowhere else in the world. It was on these islands that Charles Darwin, upon observation of the interaction of rare birds, reptiles and sea lions, began the thinkings which would lead to his famous "Theory of Evolution" based on natural selection.

A visit to this impressive wildlife sanctuary will be a memorable experience for those who really appreciate nature. Some of the animals you will see include: Giant Tortoises, Fur Seals, Sea Lions, Land and Sea Iguanas and countless species of birds. Tours can be booked either in Quito or Cuenca and most students plan 2 or 3 days trips.

paragliding
Where else can you paraglide from a volcanic peak a half-hour from a major metropolitan center? Several paragliding schools can be found within an hour of Quito. You can take a week-long training course, or entrust yourself to an experienced pilot on a tandem flight.

Flights last around 10-25 minutes depending on the air currents, take place in the morning for maximum airlift. According to aficionados, trying to imitate a condor feels surprisingly natural - and you certainly won't get any better views. For more information on paragliding in and around Quito as well as in other locations, please check out our paragliding and handgliding page.

archeological tours
Numerous Pre-Columbian archeological sites in the countryside surrounding Quito await! Explore pre-Incan pyramids at Rumicucho and Pambamarca, the fort at Rumicucho and the burial mounds at Hacienda Zuleta. These tours are best for people with a real interest in archeology, as the sites in and of themselves are not Palenque-sized nor as grandiose as Machu Pichu. For more information on archeological tours, please check out our archeological and cultural tours page.

bird watching
Ecuador boasts one of the most diverse bird populations in the world; over 1,500 native species have been recorded. From Quito, tour operators offer a number of one and two-day excursions to paramo and the cloudforest region, which are home to some of the rarest birds found anywhere.

Two-day trips give you a better chance of seeing such rare and beautiful birds as the outrageous Andean Cock-of-the Rock. The reserves at Mindo, Bellavista Cloudforest Reserve, Maquipucuna, Pasochoa Reserve, and the back side of Pinchincha Volcano are all recommended.

horseback riding
Guided day tours are available for all standards of riders - and if you've never ridden before what better place to start than in the Andes? Most day programs are managed through one of the nearby haciendas or the Green Horse Ranch located in the geobotanic reserve of Pululahua, an ancient volcanic crater filled with tangled vegetation.

mountain biking
Traversing the splendor of the Andes via mountain bike can be surprisingly effortless. Becuase high altitude biking is a challenge for even the most fit, jeeps usually take riders and their bikes to the top of one of Ecuador's many mountains, and from there they cruise down.

If zipping down hills is not your thing, or you want to work up a lather, you can arrange more strenuous riding, including some painful uphill climbs. Biking tour operators offer a range of trips that navigate cloudforests and cross the paramo (highland plain), often on deserted and unpaved roads. Other popular trips include biking around the base of Cotopaxi and down the Andes to the cloudforest town of Mindo.

rafting
The popularity of whitewater rafting in Ecuador grows daily. Ecuador has emerged from whitewater obscurity to fame, and is now known as one of the world's premier whitewater playgrounds. The massive Andean range gives birth to scores of rivers east and west that carve their way through spectacular gorges, canyons, valleys and jungles leaving behind hundreds of miles of breathtaking world class whitewater.

Near Quito you can race through humid tropical forest, which you'll have little time to notice as you negotiate the class II/III rapids, making for a thrilling, not-too-dangerous day out. For a little more "peligro," there's the "raft-eating" class III-IV rapids of the Rio Toachi.

climbing & hiking
You can escape the bustle of Quito to the fresh air of its surroundings where opportunities for rock climbing, mountaineering (locally called andinismo), trekking and hiking are numerous. Cotopaxi and Pichincha are two of the areas most popular excursions. Cotopaxi National Park, with Ecuador's second highest peak and the world's highest active volcano, is just one and a half hours from Quito, and Pinchincha is just minutes from Quito.