New Town is the financial and business part of town, with modern buildings, shops, hotels and restaurants. There are also many museums and things to do and see in New Town. A don't miss is the Casa de Cultura Ecuatoriana which houses several museums, including the Museo del Banco Central, with wonderful archaeological displays. The Inca gold sun mask is only one of the treasures on display. There are also musical instruments, traditional dress and art. For more art, visit Museo Guayasamín, the home of Indian painter Oswaldo Guayasamín.
In New Town, Parque El Ejído is a popular gathering place. For a safe view of many of the wildlife species found in the country, take a look at the Vivarium for snakes, turtles, lizards, iguanas and other species.
North of Quito:
Quito is a little more than 13 mi (22 km) from the Equator, and a trip to the Mitad del Mundo allows you to straddle both hemispheres, stroll around the monument and then climb the viewing platform. There's an ethnographical museum and a scale model of Quito's old town. A few miles away is the pre-Inca site of Rumicucho and the volcanic crater of Pululahua.
The market town of Otavalo is a popular destination for the Saturday markets which have been there since pre-Inca days. The Otavalan Indians are famous for their traditional dress and jewelry. You can buy textiles (weavings and clothing) and handicrafts at the market. (Photo of a Woman making Cloth.)
Saturday is the main day for the handicraft and the animal and livestock market, although the food and produce market is open almost every day. The activity is clustered around three plazas, with crafts in Poncho Plaza , beginning at dawn and ending around noon. It is best to go early as the market gets very crowded with tour groups arriving mid-morning. Brush up your bargaining skills and enjoy the experience. If you haven't bargained before, try this technique. Ask or note the price. React with disbelief. Offer half the stated price. The seller will react with disbelief, perhaps in flowery and verbose terms. Up your offer slightly. The seller will lower his/her offer a bit. Up your offer again, and the seller will lower the price. Continue this process and compromise somewhere around seventy-five percent of the initial price. You'll both be pleased with the process.
When you're are through with the market, browse through the Instituto Otavaleño de Antropología. If you schedule your trip for the first two weeks in September, you can enjoy the Fiesta del Yamor. There are processions, music, dancing, fireworks capped with the crowning of the Reina de la Fiesta.
Otavalo is in the Andean highlands and a weekend there is a good way to savor the markets, tour the nearby Indian villages along the PanAmerican Highway and enjoy a walk around Lago San Pablo (photo) and view Imbabura volcano .
For more shopping, go north of Otavalo to Cotacachi for the leatherwork, and then to go to Ibarra, the small colonial capital of Imbabura , for woodwork. If you have the time, take the train from here to the coastal town of San Lorenzo. The route drops from Ibarra at 7342 ft (2225 m) above sea level to sea level over a 129 m (193 km) route. The train ride is not for the faint-hearted, but you'll see spectacular scenery.
From Ibarra, you can get to Tulcán, near the Colombian border. It's a market town, and the gateway to Páramo de El Angel where you can trek through the Cerro Golondrina cloud forests.
