Quito is Ecuador’s capital city and is home to roughly 2 million residents. It is roughly 5 miles wide and 30 miles long, since it sits in a valley of the Andes Mountains.

Downtown Quito, also known as the Centro Histórico, has been declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The first day of each short-term team’s time in Ecuador focuses on the cultural and historical context of Quito and the surrounding area. We explore the historical city center while adjusting to the altitude.

Twenty years ago, Ecuador changed its currency from the sucre to the US dollar to stop rapid inflation.

Overnight, what could once buy a week of groceries for a family could suddenly only buy a carton of milk. Ecuador experienced great poverty and a mass exodus of fathers in the workforce as they left to find work abroad and send money home. Many never returned. As a result, an entire generation of children grew up without fathers and in great need.

Ecuador has recovered some over the past decades, but the effects of the economic crisis are still very evident at times.

Ecuador, named for the equator, sits right on the middle of the world. That means the climate is nearly the same year-round. There is a rainy season and a dry season.

Quito is the world’s highest official capital at nearly 10,000 ft, which is twice as high as Denver, CO.

The Incas identified Quito as the ideal location to worship the sun - a high altitude and on the equator. We are about as close to the sun as you can be while on Earth. Make sure to pack your sunscreen!