QUITO, ECUADOR: BEST THINGS TO DO & BEST HOTELS TO STAY (inc. Casa Gangotena & the JW Marriott)

At 2800m elevation, the capital of Ecuador Quito is the second highest capital in the world, and you can feel shortness of breath when you arrive, so be warned. I travelled here at the start of an expedition cruise to the Galapagos with the Norwegian expedition cruise liner Hurtigruten - we had 2 days in Quito at the start of our expedition and boy was I blown away by this city. I LOVED it. I stayed in two different hotels in Quito - one before going to the Galapagos (the JW Marriott ) and one afterwards (the Casa Gangotena). They are both SO different. The Marriott is in the new town, away from the action but has lovely grounds and lovely swimming pools - nowhere is far or too expensive by taxi. The Casa Gangotena is a deluxe small, boutique hotel in the heart of the colonial, historic center on the Plaza de San Francisco. Both are lovely and offer different things. Both have good food. Hopefully this video will help you decide which one to stay at or, like me, you might like to try one at the start of your cruise to the Galapagos and one afterwards. There's plenty to do in Quito and two nights isn't enough in my opinion. This video explores some of the brilliant things there are to do in Quito, from visiting the equator (yes, Quito sits right on the equator and you can stand with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern). It's called La Mitad del Mundo (this translates as the middle of the world). Also worth taking is the Quito aerial tram/cable car/telerifico up to the bottom of the Pichincha volcano - this is fun although, at 4100m, the air is even thinner here, so be warned. They recommend acclimatizing to the altitude before attempting this. There are GREAT views of Quito from here and, on a good day, you can see all the volcanoes surrounding the city. They call it the Ring of Fire. You SHOULD try to do this. It is fun and is pictured on my thumbnail. Other fun things to do include visiting a local market and being healed by a shaman; walking around the UNESCO World Heritage historical center and its churches which are dripping with gold. And it's also worth heading outside of Quito to the Cotopaxi National Park. Quito is surrounded by volcanoes and Cotopaxi (which is still active) is massive - nearly 6000m high. It's fun hiking around the dramatic volcano base or, if you're very brave, you could try hiking UP it. To do this you would need to stay near Cotopaxi for the night and get up early to go to the park. I recommend. the Hacienda San Agustin. I had lunch here after my hike and not only was the food delicious, but I snuck into some of the boutique rooms and they were DIVINE! They also have llamas in the grounds and you can get to feed them. I wish I HAD stayed at this place. You could spend at least 6 nights in and around Quito, especially if you were to stay at this Hacienda for a couple of nights which would be amazing. Really hope you enjoy this video and Quito. Ecuador is an amazing country. More information: My Galapagos expedition and cruise was with the Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten: https://www.hurtigruten.com/ The Casa Gangotena: https://www.casagangotena.com/ JW Marriott Quito: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/uiodt-jw-marriott-hotel-quito/overview/ Hacienda San Agustin: http://www.incahacienda.com/index.php