Quito

Quito, Ecuador's capital and second biggest city has some nice sights like the colonial center and la Mariscal, where all tourists are based. Like all big cities in Ecuador, it is a bit dangerous, though, so you never really feel at ease. We heard a lot of stories of people being robbed.

About one hour north of Quito, you can visit Mitad del Mundo, a village with a monument on the equator where you can put one foot in the southern hemisphere and one in the northern.

A nice museum to visit in Quito is the museo de Guyasamín, a famous Ecuatorian painter. You can also visit his house (where his ashes are buried) with a nice view on Quito.

Two hours from Quito is Ecuador's most famous volcano: Cotopaxi. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to climb to the peak, so we just did a day of downhill mountainbiking.