The Andes' highest capital — colonial spires, hornado pork, and fresh ceviche at altitude
Quito sits at 2,850 metres in a volcanic valley, its UNESCO-listed Centro Histórico one of the best-preserved colonial old towns in Latin America — a grid of baroque churches, cobblestone plazas, and street-food carts selling hornado (slow-roasted whole pig), llapingachos (potato cakes), and freshly-pressed lulo juice. Ecuador's equatorial position gives Quito spring-like weather year-round and same-day access to cloud forests, the Amazon basin, and Galápagos connections, while the Mariscal district buzzes with local eateries and craft beer bars that fill every night.
Quito was the northern capital of the Inca Empire before Spanish conquistadors founded the colonial city in 1534 on its ruins, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Americas. The city declared independence from Spain on 10 August 1809 — the first South American city to do so, earning the title "Luz de América" — and in 1978 its historic centre became one of UNESCO's first two designated World Heritage Sites.