La Mitad del Mundo

Straddling the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, you’ll find La Mitad del Mundo, or The Middle of the World. The area was built at the point thought to be Latitude 0˚, 0’, 0” better known as the Equator.
Unfortunately, the actual line is about 250 meters north of the line they used, due to a calculation error. Nonetheless, Mitad del Mundo is still a great spot to check out, and of course to take that iconic photo with one foot on either side! You won’t regret spending a few hours here on your trip to Quito– it’s close by, fun to explore, and there’s lots of areas for fun photos. Check out our tips!

Basic Info:

• Mitad del Mundo is located about 18 miles from Quito’s city center-- roughly a 40-minute drive (Quito's traffic is legendary, so keep that in mind, too!)
• $5 entrance fee
• Open 9am-6pm everyday of the year
• Other than the famous dividing line and monument, there is also a large complex with a museum and several cultural sites

 Tips:

• Plan to visit early in the day. You can arrive right when it opens at 9am to have the place totally to yourself.  All the better for taking as many fun photos as you want, especially the iconic shot with one foot on either side! The yellow painted line also extends behind the monument, so you can take nice photos from the back side as well if the sun angle isn’t cooperating in front.
• Speaking of the sun… Pack sunscreen! The sun is very strong here!
• Don’t miss going inside the monument, as the little museum has a good amount of information and the view from the balcony is great.  
• If you want to go to the real equator line, walk to the Museo de Sitio Intiñan, a nice museum about 250 yards away.

Getting There:

• There are tons of tour operators in the Quito area boasting “half-day tours of Mitad del Mundo” for $30-60 per person with transportation. You don’t need to do this. Half a day is actually on the long side for a visit, and you’ll save quite a bit of money taking a ride-share like Uber or the bus. If you opt to take an Uber, its about $25 USD round-trip. If you have the time to spare, there is also a bus that goes to the area which is of course far cheaper. Once you are done at the monument, there are often taxis around the visitor center to take you back to Quito. Since it is such a heavily visited spot you should not have a problem finding a taxi. You can also ask one of the security guards by the entrance to call you a taxi and they will help you out if necessary, and there’s also wifi in the visitor center to call an Uber.

What to See: 

• The main thing to see at Mitad del Mundo is the monument, located up the big walkway from where you enter– you can’t miss it. The monument is topped by a globe, and has four sides for each of the cardinal directions. First constructed in 1936 to honor the French, who chose this location as the equator 200 years prior, there is a small museum inside where you can read about the history of the area and you can walk up to the balcony for a nice view.
• In addition to the monument, there are many little shops for souvenirs, a few restaurants, a planetarium and a few other museums. 
• 
• Check out the chocolate museum, where they show how you make chocolate and give a little taste of cocoa in a raw form. 
• The ancestral housing area is a bit cheesy, but still worth visiting. You can definitely spend a good amount of time walking around and reading about the history of the area, too. 
• There is often dancing and live music on Sundays.
  

What to do:

Just by looking at the name “Ecuador” you can guess its location on a map, correct? Ecuador straddles the equatorial line, so one of its attractions is visiting the “Middle of the World” or la Mitad del Mundo. So, mis amigos, I’ve created a list of things you can do if you visit the equator in Ecuador!

  

1. Try some cuy. There are many locations in and around la MDM where cuy is sold. If you’re wondering, “What is cuy?” let me tell you that it is a delicious meat eaten in Ecuador that tastes like chicken… except it’s guinea pig. You have to try it at least once. I’ll assure you that I was skeptical at first because I know a lot of people own a pet guinea pig. But just so you know, one of my friends here has a pet guinea pig back in the states, but he still tried cuy and loved it! Recommendation: Eat cuy at Restaurante Pueblita located outside of la MDM in a town called Pomasqui. I’ve heard that this is the best cuy place.  
2.   Visit the Museo Intiñan. This museum is an open plan museum that shows real-life examples of tribes that lived in the area previously. This even includes a replica of an Inca style ‘bar’. You will even find precious items such as totem poles, shrunken heads, and the dead body of a giant snake. The museum will take you through a tour of the animals in the Ecuadorian rainforest, the process of making a shrunken head, the living spaces of a group of indigenous peoples of the rainforest, and many other surprises. You’ll be able to take a picture at the equator standing on both hemispheres! Also, if you ask, you could get the chocolate tour which lets you see the chocolate-making process and you can sample some chocolate bits.
3. Balance an egg on a the head of a nail. This is also done at Intiñan as part of the tour. But the cool part is that if you actually get it to balance, you get a little diploma that states your accomplishment. Balance the egg and feel like an equatorial champion.
4. See the UNASUR building. This building is only a few years old and was used earlier this year to hold the UNASUR conference. UNASUR is the Union of South American Nations, and their event hosted the presidents of the South American countries as well as some of the Central American presidents. Outside of the building are the flags of all of the South American nations.
5. Go see the monument at the Middle of the World. I did not have time to see this monument because the area was closing (I took too long at the Intiñan Museum). Inside of the closed area is another museum full of history of Ecuador, more flags, and the giant monument where you can take a picture.
6. See the “actual” Mitad del Mundo. The tourist areas are the ones I’ve mentioned before, but the real MDM (where GPS devices have confirmed is the actual longitude and latitude zero) is on top of a mountain a few kilometers away from the monument and UNASUR building. There is a pole at the top of the mountain that marks the spot for the real MDM. Ask any local and they will be happy to point you to the area.
7. Visit the largest self-sustained volcano valley village. There are taxi rides that will take you to Pululahua to see inside of the volcano. It’s villagers only travel outside to buy some commodities not grown or found within the volcano. However, the villagers grow their own food down there since the land is surprisingly fertile and they receive a ton of humidity from the clouds. My only advice would be to visit this site earlier in the morning when there are no clouds or fog so that you’ll be able to see inside the volcano crater. Another tip: Wear warm clothing since it’ll be colder there.
8. Enjoy the entertainment on the weekends.