CITIES

Our programs are based in Quito, although many activities are developed in different parts of the country.

QUITO is the Capital City of Ecuador, recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO. With a population of one and a half million, it is a narrow and long city located at an elevation of 9,000 feet. It remains as one of Latin America´s most beautiful and livable capitals.

•At its core it is one of the finest, best preserved colonial cities in all of Latin America. It holds many colonial churches such as San Francisco, Santo Domingo, San Agustin, El Sagrario and La Compañía, which are among the continent´s great architectural gems.

•The most picturesque of all of its fine colonial streets is the narrow winding Callejón de la Ronda, the city´s core Plaza Grande, flanked on two sides by the Cathedral and the Palacio Nacional. El Panecillo is a hill commanding one of the best views of Quito at the very center of the city.

•It is located very near to the monument of La Mitad del Mundo ( 7 miles away), which identifies the site where the equator line was first established in the world.

OTHER MAJOR CITIES:

• GUAYAQUIL is the economic capital of Ecuador, located on the shore of Rio Guayas. It is the most important port, controlling many of the export/import activities in the country.

• CUENCA is a beautiful city in the southern part of the Andean Region. The colonial architecture is one of its main attractions.

•Other important cities in the Coastal Regions are Esmeraldas, Manta, Portoviejo, Machala, and in the Highlands are Ibarra, Ambato, Riobamba, Tulcan, Latacunga.