Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador

Mitad del Mundo, The Center of the Earth. There are a couple places here in Ecuador that you can supposedly walk the equator line and while the measurements may be questionable about the exact location it is still a really cool experience and also a fun little day trip.

You can get there by taxi/uber/easytaxi or by bus. We took a taxi to get there right at 9am when it opened so we could avoid a bit of the crowds. The first stop is the giant monument with a whole little built up touristy village of small museums, cafes and gift shops.

It is $5 per person to get into the Mitad del Mundo village but you can stay and explore all you want. You can also take the elevator or walk up to the top of the monument for a bit of a higher perspective. On the 2nd & 3rd floor of the monument is some fun little science experiments that you can play with.

Overall we didn’t go to all the museums because a few were closed and we wanted to visit the 2nd supposed site of the equator about 200 meters away.

There is an additional museum/site called Museo Intinan about a 10 minute walk away from the first site. It is a bit hidden but definitely worth it to seek out. They believe they have the actual site of the equator located and pinned down (Apparently there is some debate still but I am neither a scientist nor a cartographer). Regardless if this second location is the actual site or not, it was much more interesting and informative.

It is about $4 or $5 and they make sure you start with a tour to give a bit of history to Ecuador and some traditions along with explanations about some indigenous tribes as well. They show you some strength and balance experiments and allow you to interact with them as well. This site was much smaller but we ended up spending more time here purely out of interest.

It was a fun little day trip from Quito and an easy bus ride to and from the city costing only about .25-.50 cents.