Day 14
Breakfast in the hotel. Transfer to Quito with a driver. Transfer to the hotel Casa Gangotena. Sightseeing tour of the city of Quito with a visit to the equator line. The duration of the excursion day including transfers is 8 hours. Height – 2800m. The average temperature is +20C during the day, +10C at night. During a sightseeing tour of Quito, you will see fascinating panoramas, churches, domes and rooftops that are historical relics, and learn about colonial art, architecture, culture, legends and traditions. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an Incan city and is located at an altitude of 2800 m. Despite the earthquake of 1917, the city has the best preserved and least altered. historical center in Latin America. The architecture and rich interiors are examples of the Quito School of Art, which is a fusion of Spanish, Italian, Moorish, Flemish and indigenous art. Artists of this school worked in stone and wood to give shape to the most important religious events. After an hour and a half walking tour exploring the Old Town, you will understand why Quito was the first city in the world to be included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list. Quito takes its name from the Quitus tribe, which inhabited the region long before the Spanish conquest. In 1533, Sebastian de Benalcazar took possession of the city, which was first the capital of the Inca Empire, and in 1541 it was elevated to the rank of a Spanish city. Its full name is San Francisco de Quito. The city was the capital of the state of Quito until the end of Spanish colonial rule. The Franciscan Order was the first of the orders to establish itself in Quito. The Franciscans immediately began construction of the monastery, which became a center of education and art and has its own schools of painting and sculpture (the Church of San Francisco is visited during the tour). Around the main square, Plaza Grande, are the main buildings of the country: the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace, the Archbishop's Palace and the City Hall. We will visit the best example of colonial art in the city - a Jesuit temple, the facade of which is covered with intricate carvings. Quito is a capital city and has many contrasts, you can appreciate this by visiting the old city and new areas. You will get a beautiful view of the entire city from the Panecillo observation deck with a statue of the Virgin Mary with wings, the patroness of the city. We go to the “Middle of the World” (equator line). There are two places to visit the equator line, and we will visit both places: 1.) The city of Mitad del Mundo. The town of Mitad del Mundo is a tourist and commercial center where tourists can discover a monument made in memory of the geodetic expedition of 1736 that established the location of the equator line in this place. The tourist complex "Middle of the World" belongs to the prefecture of the province of Pichincha, Ecuador. It is located in the parish of San Antonio of the metropolitan district of Quito, north of the city center of Quito. The headquarters of the Union of South American Nations is being built on the territory of the complex. Between 1979 and 1982, a 30-meter-tall monument was erected to mark where the equator line was thought to lie. A line marking the equator extends from the center of the monument, and countless tourists have crossed it over the years. But in fact, the entire structure is located 240 m south of the real line, which was calculated correctly in the 20th century thanks to the advent of the GPS positioning system. 2.) Intignan Museum. In this museum we will be able to implement a series of experiments that explain the influence of the equator line on the natural forces of nature. Also here you will receive information about the culture of ancient peoples, and we will be able to see a series of totems from various cultures of South America. Here are traditional dwellings of different cultures existing in the country, for example, a house with objects that belonged to an Indian family that lived in this place many generations ago. Return to the hotel. Free time.