
Tourist attractions in Ecuador
The Middle of the World
The Middle of the World
Address:
AV. Manuel Córdova Galarza km 13,5Nearby attractions
Places to visit within 30 km.

Intiñan Site Museum in the Middle of the World
Intiñán. Quechua word that means Way of the Sun. It is the name of the Site Museum in San Antonio de Pichincha. It is 200 meters from the Museum and the Middle of the World City. Intiñán is a center of scientific and anthropological diffusion. Perhaps its most publicized aspect is the scientific one because of the "egg demonstration". Visitors are challenged to balance an egg on the head of a nail, in a perpendicular way. The Museum gives a certificate to those who succeed. The second surprising demonstration is the "Coriolis Effect". When the cap is removed from a container full of water, the drain is perpendicular. No schedule, no anti-clockwork. Two proofs that people are in the Middle of the World, on the Equator. Under its consequences. There's a second aspect not so well known. This is an anthropological museum. It spreads the solar knowledge of the Ecuadorian aboriginal peoples and their cultures. Intiñan has an attractive distribution. The Solar Cylinder or "Acoratene" to observe the movement of the Sun. In its center the Chakana. The kuri-cancha to celebrate equinoxes and solstices. With capacity for 400 people. The totemic forest and the Atlantis. The replica of a funeral tola. The Solar Calendar indicates the position of the earth in relation to the sun. The Shuar, Waorani, Qichua and Salasaca cultures have their very particular rooms. These expose their characters, customs, ways of life and the environment in which they develop. The visit is not complete without knowing something about the Galapagos Islands and seeing the Andean camelid corral. The Intiñán Museum, a family initiative, has several decades of experience. It is a project initiated in 1960 by professor, journalist and researcher Humberto Vera. It is continued by his son Fabián Vera. The San Antonio de Pichincha parish, north of Quito, is world famous. The Equinoctial Line, which divides the world into two halves, passes through this place.
0.20 Km.

Pork Sandwiches Street
The culture of the pig plays a leading role in the gastronomy and the nutrition of the population of Cuenca, heritage of the colony. One version of this culture is the hind leg sandwiches. There are dozens of places to eat a good sandwich in the Historical Center of Cuenca. But one corner has been very popular for five decades: Juan Jaramillo and Miguel Angel Estrella, San Blas parish. There are three places that sell leg sandwiches, accompanied by natural juices or cold drinks. They are hollow patrimonial places ideal to talk about trivial topics in good company, while eating a sandwich. Juan Jaramillo's "soda fountains" became so popular that many customers turned their star product into an everyday meal, not just an appetizer. The pork leg is obtained from the pig's leg that is marinated and cooked over a low heat. From this, pieces of meat are removed to make the sandwich. It is customary for the consumer to season it with a powerful chili mixed with onions, which provides the hollow. They serve the same, but the taste in each of these places is different. There is more of a difference when you try the chili. The ideal topping is very cold coconut juice. The sandwich, a fast and cheap meal, had an aristocratic origin. It was invented by John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, in the 18th century, to give free rein to his obsession with playing cards. With this candy he could play non-stop while eating. Today, the sandwich, an Ecuadorian adaptation of the English word sandwich, accepted by the RAE as a sandwich or sandwich, is undoubtedly a popular meal.
17.44 Km.

Fuya Fuya Hil
The Fuya Fuya is preferred by tourists who like mountaineering in its different specialties.In the sector there are three trails that lead to the top of the hill from where you can see the top of the Imbabura, Cotacachi and Cayambe volcanoes. The scenic beauty offered by the sector is incomparable. You can climb the Fuya Fuya hill, which is the highest peak that surrounds the Mojanda lagoons and from its top you can see a large part of the inter-Andean alley of the Sierra Norte del Ecuador. Location Cerro Fuya FuyaThis hill is located near the Lagunas de Mojanda, passing the town of Pedro Moncayo, 17 km south of Otavalo. Activities: Climb to the top of Fuya Fuya Climb to the summit of Yanahurco Laguna Grande Ring Trekking Cochasquí Pyramids Trail - Laguna Chiquita Malchinguí Trail - Laguna Chiquita Yanahurco bypass Atahualpa Trail - Laguna Grande Laguna Grande ring road following the line of summits
23.94 Km.

Compañia de Jesus Church & Convent
The Church and the convent "San Ignacio de Loyola" of the Society of Jesus, also known simply as "La Compañía", is a catholic complex located on the corner of Garcia Moreno and Sucre streets, in the historical center of Quito, capital of Ecuador, and cultural heritage of humanity. The facade of its main temple is carved in stone and is considered to be one of the most important expressions of the baroque architecture in America and the whole world. The inner decoration of the church is covered by 7 tons of sheets of 23-carat gold leaf, making it an economic and artistic heritage of incalculable value. As a tourist attraction, it is one of the most important in Quito. The company was visited by two popes, Juan Pablo II in 1985 and Francisco in 2015. The construction of the church took 160 years from 1605. All works conceived by European artists, to the church, were put into practice by mestizos as Bernardo Legarda and by indigenous artists such as Manuel Chili "Caspicara", that they printed their personal stamp through representations of native flora and symbols of the ancient villages of the Audience. The styles used are the baroque, the Mudejar or Moorish, the Churrigueresque and the neoclassical. “La Compañía” is a chest of colonial religious art treasures. Its exquisite art gallery houses works of the Quito School, exhibited on the walls of the church and the convent, including "The Four Evangelists", "The Cardinals of the Company of Jesus" and "The Sixteen Prophets". There are two sacred treasures in the temple: the remains of Saint Mary of Jesus, the first Ecuadorian Saint proclaimed in 1950 and the Picture of the Miracle of the Painful Virgin.
25.13 Km.

San Francisco Religious Complex
Temple, museum, convent cloister and university of theology and philosophy for the formation of catholic priests, San Francisco has worldwide fame. The complex is located in the historic center of the city of Quito, capital of the Republic of Ecuador and cultural heritage of humanity, in front of the square that has the same name. San Francisco is also known as "El Escorial del Nuevo Mundo", for its 13 cloisters, 3 temples and its huge atrium, totaling 40,000 square meters of construction. There is much to see and do in San Francisco, because in addition to its artistic heritage, it concentrates all kinds of activities: religious, political, educational and popular. As a container for the cultural heritage of Ecuador, it has a collection of over 4.000 works of colonial art, especially of the renowned “Quito School” founded by San Pedro Gocial. The museum takes its name; it has 7 rooms and two courtyards that you can visit. The temple is open to the public; it stands out the stairway that leads from the square to the atrium and the Cantuña chapel, known as “The Sistine Chapel of Quito's Art”. The San Francisco’s square, located in front of the church, was the scene of the most important historical events of Ecuador in the 20th century. It is also place for street art, a popular market and social interaction site. From 1535, the construction of the church and its complex extends for 150 years, giving rise to the first legends of the city of San Francisco from Quito, among them "The mysterious finger" and "Cantuña". Narrated by generations, these stories are part of the cultural heritage of Ecuador, which demonstrates the importance of this temple of legends and colonial art.
25.15 Km.

Mojanda Lagoons
The Mojanda Lagoons are surrounded by grasslands and remnants of native forests that maintain a representative biodiversity of the northern Andean moors. The lake complex is made up of three lagoons, the first and largest known as Caricocha or male lagoon which is of volcanic origin, next to this lagoon there are two smaller ones, Huarmicocha or female lagoon and Yanacocha or black lagoon, all of them will achieve transmit the tranquility of its waters and the life of its surroundings. It has crystal clear water, ideal for fishing, hiking and camping. Location It is located on the provincial border between Pichincha and Imbabura, at the foot of the Fuya Fuya hill at 4,263 meters above sea level; passing the town of Pedro Moncayo, 17 km south of Otavalo. The Mojanda lake complex is at the top of the Mojanda-Cajas knot mountain system and occupies the crater cauldron of the extinct Mojanda volcano.
26.45 Km.

