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Quito
Ecuador's capital, a colonial jewel high in the Andes
Strung along a narrow Andean valley almost 2,850 metres above the sea, Quito is the highest official capital in the world and the best-preserved historic centre in the Americas. Ecuador's capital sits within sight of snow-capped volcanoes and only a short drive from the equator that gives the country its name. Its old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978, is a dense weave of whitewashed colonial mansions, gilded baroque churches, and steep cobbled streets, all cradled by green volcanic slopes that rise sharply on every side.
The city stretches more than 50 kilometres north to south along a high valley on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active volcano that looms directly above downtown. At its altitude the air is thin and the climate cool and spring-like year-round, with bright mornings and frequent afternoon rain. The surrounding Andes crowd Quito into its long, narrow shape, and on clear days a dozen volcanic peaks, including the perfect cone of Cotopaxi, are visible from the city, a setting that has earned the valley the name Avenue of the Volcanoes.
Quito rose on the site of an important Inca settlement, refounded by the Spanish in 1534 on the ruins they had razed. As a colonial centre it produced a celebrated school of religious art and architecture that fills its churches with carved and gilded splendour. It became the capital of independent Ecuador in the nineteenth century and remains the country's political and cultural heart. Its meticulously preserved old town, saved from demolition by early heritage protection, makes Quito one of South America's most beautiful capitals.