0° latitude – the equator – just north of the city of Quito

We went to see the equator and the monument that sits on it. It was here that the equatorial line was calculated by Frenchman Charles-Marie de la Condamine in 1736. It’s actually 150m off the actual equator as measured by modern GPS instruments – themselves often 7-10 meters off.

Other attractions are located in the same local as the equator monument such as the scale models of colonial Quito and Cuenca – included in the ticket price. I was really looking forward to seeing these as they have artificial days and nights and took 7 years to build. Unfortunately when we arrived, at about 11:30am, it was closed. A timetable on the door states there is a lunch “hour” from 11am to 2pm. We couldn’t stay that late as we wanted to arrive in the market town of Otavalo before dark. So at 1pm we left.
Photos –

Tags: ecuador, mitad del mundo, quito