Cotopaxi National Park

Parque Nacional Cotopaxi is Ecuador’s most visited National Park with the highest active volcano in the world at its centre. Volcán Cotopaxi, at 19,350ft (5,900m) above sea level, offers excellent hiking and climbing opportunities along with a small museum, a llama herd and camping and picnicking facilities. There is also a good chance of spotting condors and deer. An overnight mountain hut on the snow line is available for those wishing to climb the volcano. The recommended months for climbing the volcano are December to April.

Cuenca

The Spanish founded the pretty colonial city of Cuenca in 1557. Despite being Ecuador's third largest city, it is quaint and colonial, and a favourite for photographers with its cobblestone streets and 16th-century buildings in the old centre. It is a good place to spend a few days relaxing in the grand atmosphere. There are a number of museums and churches to see, and plazas, markets and cathedrals that can be visited during a leisurely ramble of the city. Nearby are the country's only major Inca ruins, the fortress of Ingapirca.

 
 
El Mitad del Mundo

El Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World) is a purpose-built complex of museums and shops that was constructed to mark the equator, the line that gives the country its name. The 96ft (30m) high Equator Monument is the focus of the square, topped by a brass sphere representing the world, from where a painted line stretches out on either side marking the equator that divides the world, and the complex, into northern and southern hemispheres. Also on the square is a set of weighing scales to illustrate the fact that one loses a bit of weight on the equator, being further from the centre of the planet’s gravity than usual. An anthropological museum has interesting displays of Ecuador’s indigenous populations and their customs, and there is a scenic lookout at the top.
 

Museo del Banco Central

One of the few sights in the New City is the round walled Casa de la Cultura. It houses a theatre, a cinema and two museums, the more impressive being the Museo del Banco Central. Ecuador's premiere museum, it contains an astonishing collection of religious art, Columbian ceramics and pre-Hispanic gold, and a huge archaeological repertoire. Of interest are the ceramics of the La Tolita society (600 BC to 400 AD), the Gigantes de Bahía, the Sala de Oro filled with gold, and the Sala de Arte Colonial, packed with religious paintings and sculpture.

Otavalo

Ecuador is famous for its colourful, indigenous markets, and the best known of these is market day at Otavalo. It dates back to pre-Inca times when jungle products were brought up from the lowlands to be traded for highland goods. Every Saturday is a wonderful sprawling mix of rich colour, smells and the sounds of energetic bargaining, an essential part of trade and an art in itself. Spread over three plazas and the surrounding streets, thousands of local otavaleños in striking traditional dress sit among their wares, doing hard business with tourists and locals alike. The Plaza de los Ponchos is the main area for crafts like woollen blankets, bright ponchos and jerseys, colourful bags and woven tapestries. It is possible to buy almost anything from fresh fruit and rain sticks to jewellery and dried lentils. First thing in the morning is the noisy animal market on the edge of town where llamas, pigs, horses and cows are bought and sold after furious haggling.

Plaza de la Independencia

The square, also known as Plaza Grande, has always been the heart of the city, and as the hub of the old centre it is the best place to sit and people-watch. Around the square are the Cathedral, the City Hall, the Government Palace and the Archbishop’s Palace, the  most notable municipal and religious buildings in the city. The cathedral, the oldest church in South America, is one of the city’s most impressive historical and architectural sites. Both the Government Palace and the cathedral were scenes of shocking murders; in 1875 President García Moreno was murdered by machete, and in 1877 Bishop of Quito was poisoned during a Good Friday Mass.
 
 
 
Plaza San Francisco

The plaza is a large cobbled square with the western side completely dominated by the enormous façade of the Iglesia de San Francisco and its belltower, and the Monastery of the same name. It is a peaceful place, without the shady benches full of people and the business of Plaza de la Independencia. Inside the church are chapels gilded in gold, splendid altars and many religious paintings and carvings produced by the Quito School. The Monastery holds some priceless examples of Spanish sculpture and art. It is the biggest religious compound in South America with seven courtyards and buildings stretching behind the church, which only become evident once the visitor has ventured through the stone doorway of the main entrance.