A land of great geographical diversity, Ecuador, a small country lodged between Colombia and Peru, has magnificent scenery, where high volcanoes, sketched along the lengths of two cordilleras, form the backbone of the country. The best known among them is Cotopaxi which, at 5,897 metres, is the highest active volcano in the world. Quito, the capital and home of the first Spanish colonies, is perched at an altitude of 2,850 metres and surrounded by superb volcanos. It’s the second highest South American capital, after La Paz (in Bolivia). The city of Quito stretches over more than 30 km, with a width of about 10 km, and is divided into two distinct areas: modern Quito casts a range of tall silhouettes, including expensive and very protected middle-class homes, shopping centres, banks, restaurants, hotels and bars; Colonial Quito is the historic city centre and is home to the most popular districts. But more than the eternal representative of a fascinating pre-Columbian civilisation, Quito is also a point of departure for discovering all the marvels of Latin America: the volcanoes, the Pacific ocean and the Amazon. Welcome to the world’s point of equilibrium!
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