How to get out Quito
Quito is surrounded by a variety of places that could interest all kinds of tourists. A couple of hours on a bus ride is all it takes to reach them:
To the North, all tourists should visit the province of Imbabura, which has beautiful lakes such as Yaguarcocha and San Pablo. Hikers and mountain climbers can also ask for adventures in Cayambe National Park, home of the 3rd largest volcano in Ecuador. It's inactive. For tourists who want to shop a bit, they should take notice of the town of Otavalo, it's indian market is famous worldwide for the quality and variety of products on sale. Don't forget to haggle for your preferred price!
To the North West of Quito lies the region of Mindo, a subtropical rainforest paradise, full of rivers, majestic waterfalls, unique wildlife and more. The region is home to a variety of animal wildlife sanctuaries, and is famous locally and internationally because of its beauty. At a slightly higher altitude to Mindo is the Cloudforest. The variety of plants, birds and butterflies is wonderful. The guides carry good qulaity binoculars to help you spot some of the many varieties of birds. After each guided walk you can return to the lodge for meals. Near the main buildings there are many humminbird feeders which attract many of the energetic and luminous birds. Accommodation is simple but very clean and pleasant with balconies from which you get beautiful views into the forest. You can visit the butterfly and humming bird farm too for about 3 USD. The staff will show you around and explain to you in Spanish the life cycle of the butterflies (very worthwhile!) Landslides are known to occur on the roads to and from Mindo. Traffic can be held up for hours if this occurs. Trout (trucha in Spanish) is a specialty of Mindo and a dish of this should cost around 6 USD. To get to Mindo from Quito, catch a taxi to Ofelia bus station (5-6 USD) and at the North bus terminal buy a ticket to Mindo for 2.50 USD. The frequency of these buses differs between weekdays and weekends and travel guide times may be out of date. The earliest bus on a weekday is at 8am (13th April 2010). The bus trip is around 2 hours in length.
To the east, lies Papallacta which is a thermal water resort town. If you're into spas and relaxation, dipping into one of the natural hotwater pools for a couple of hours is a no brainer. The trucha (trout) dishes that are served here are also exquisite (~ $5.00). Take a taxi to Cumbaya bus station (from Mariscal Sucre it should cost about ~8 USD) and from there you can catch a bus ($2.50) to Papallacta. Just ask the buses that stop if they are going there. The bus will drop you in the centre of the town or on the main highway just a few minutes walk from the town (be sure to remind the driver to let you out!). You can get on the back of a Ute by hailing it (with wooden seats) for about 50 c per person to get to the hot springs. Entry into the hot springs is about $7.00. Be careful with your belongings here. You can hire lockers (50 c per locker plus a $5 deposit) but staff advise that you leave your expensive valuables behind the counter. The choice is up to you.
By Train - There are trains to Latacunga from Thursdays to Sundays leaving at 8am. The train makes a stop for breakfast and at Cotopaxi National Park. It arrives in Latacunga at 12am and heads back to Quito at 2pm, arriving there at 6pm. The price is 10$ for the return trip. You can use it as an excursion from Quito or get off at Latacunga and travel on from there by bus.
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The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Quito
