We begin the tour by picking everyone up from the hotel at the indicated time and then heading to the Basílica del Voto Nacional, where you can see a religious ecclesiastical building in the neo-Gothic style, and we will have the opportunity to climb its towers to enjoy a beautiful 360° panoramic view, where you can appreciate the great size of the city of Quito, approximately 80 km (50 miles) long and also appreciate the difference between the modern city and the old city. It is possible to admire the Pichincha volcano attached to this capital, and if the weather is favorable, towards the eastern mountain range you can see some glaciers, such as the Cotopaxi, Antisana and Cayambe volcanoes, which are part of the great diversity of volcanoes in Ecuador. We will be at an altitude of 2,850m (9,350 ft.) above sea level. We will continue towards the Plaza Grande or Plaza de la Independencia where we will take a walking tour to appreciate the different important buildings and facades of religious constructions, among which we can highlight the Government Palace, the Monument to Independence in the central part of the Plaza Grande, the facade of the Primate Cathedral of Quito, the church "El Sagrario" with sculptural and pictorial details from the 17th and 18th centuries. We will also visit the "Compañía de Jesús" church, also known as the gold church for its gold leaf laminate in all its internal details, whose construction was carried out in the 17th and 18th centuries, highlighting styles such as the Quito Baroque, characteristic of most religious buildings in Quito, and we will see many sculptures and paintings in its majestic and impressive internal decoration. We continue the tour towards the Plaza and Church of San Francisco, very important places since the pre-colonial indigenous era, used as tianguis (indigenous market) where bartering (exchange of products) was practiced. We will visit the church where we will be able to appreciate one of the most important sculptures of the Quito School of Arts, which features the image of the Virgin of Quito, the only image with wings, created by the indigenous artist Bernardo de Legarda, as well as its impressive internal decoration, laminated in gold leaf and sculptures and paintings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. We will take a break to visit one of the Ecuadorian chocolate shops in the Yumbos sector. We will taste different flavors and intensities of cocoa, and then take the transport to continue to “La Loma del Panecillo”. On this hill is the largest religious statue in Ecuador, the Virgin of Quito, 41 m. high at 3,100 m. (10,170 ft.) above sea level, a place that allows us to have a wide view of the old town of Quito and the Pichincha volcano. Afterwards, time to enjoy the delicious Ecuadorian cuisine. We will continue towards the Middle of the World, where we have one of the most important museums in Ecuador, “Intiñan”, exact point latitude 0”0’0’0, a place used by our indigenous peoples. In this place we have a great variety of solar instruments and we will have a clear idea of how the equatorial line was discovered. We will have some demonstrations regarding the Coriolis effect, as well as how to balance an egg on a nail, etc. In the same place we will observe representative houses of the Andean and Amazonian area, which are part of the local culture. Finally, we will return to the hotel. Dinner (not included) and accommodation.
