Quito is the capital of the Republic of Ecuador. It is in a state of limbo between colonial times and the modern city that is expanding day by day. Modern city structures mixed with mestizo and colonial heritage.

Quito, the capital of Ecuador and the province of Pichincha, lies on the lower slopes of the Pichincha volcano in a narrow, fertile Andean valley at 2,850 m. In Quito there is little heavy industry. The most important industrial products include textiles, foodstuffs, leather, furniture and gold and silver handicrafts. The city, which is located on the Panamericana, is connected by roads and a railway line to the Pacific Ocean.

Located in the Andes at an altitude of 2,800 meters, Quito covers an area of ​​approximately 12,000 square kilometers. The average temperatures are between 10 and 25 degrees Celsius, with large temperature fluctuations that allow residents and visitors to experience Quito every four seasons in a single day. The city is located on the volcanoes Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Antizana and Cayambe, which represent the majestic Andean backdrop. San Francisco de Quito, as it was once called, is the most Spanish city in the New World. There is a colorful mixture of ethnic groups in Quito. The rural family drives into the city on the back of a truck to sell their goods and buy other everyday items back home.

The city’s Sheriffs are present at the main points of the city. Even though the downtown area and the nightlife of the former “Pearl of the Pacific” have become safer through repressive police methods, more and more miserable slum settlements have emerged in the sprawling outskirts, with hundreds of brutal youth gangs holding the scepter, robbery and murder on the agenda. Also in other cities of the coastal area (mainly Esmeraldas and Manta), as well as in the Amazonian-Colombian border area (especially Lago Agrio), the crime rate is well above the national average. The women are often dressed in a black cape and headgear.

A popular meeting place is the Plaza San Francisco with the church of the same name. La Campania is considered the most magnificent church of the city of Quito.