The Mitad del Mundo landmark, located about an hour from Quito is one of Ecuador’s top attractions. Mitad del Mundo is Spanish for “middle of the world” and marks the 0 Longitude 0 Latitude mark. Planning your visit? Keep reading for everything you need to know for Visting Mitad del Mundo in Ecuador.
Visting Mitad del Mundo in Ecuador
Getting to Mitad del Mundo from Quito
There are a couple of different options for visiting Mitad del Mundo from Quito. Note: it is located about an hour drive away from downtown Quito, and there is a $5 per person entrance fee for adults and $2.50 for children.
- By Taxi–
- Price: ~ $15 each way
- Convenience Level: High
- Pro Tip: While this is the most convenient option, it is also the most expensive. You’ll end up paying $30 roundtrip, plus another $5 entrance to the location per person.
- By Tour Company Bus –
- Price: ~$25 per person
- The Quito Tour Company Bus is the recommended option by the local government, and there is a current $25 USD promotion
- Convenience Level: Medium
- Pro Tip: This ends up being more cost-effective than the taxi per person. The tour company also takes you to check out the lookout point over the Pululahua crater, and entrance into the Mitad del Mundo is included.
- Price: ~$25 per person
- By Bus –
- Price: ~ $1.25
- Convenience Level: Low, but most budget-friendly option.
- Pro Tip: Take the Metrobus (25 cent) to the La Ofelia bus terminal. From there you can get a bus to Mitad del Mundo.
About the Mitad del Mundo City
The Mitad del Mundo attraction is a city built around the equator line. It was announced as the official equator line by geographer Charles-Marie de La Condamine in the 18th century. However, modern GPS has determined that the actual equator line is about 1,000 ft North. Despite that fact, it still makes for a great day trip and opportunity to learn about Ecuador’s history and culture.
Pop into the main museum to learn about the different part of Ecuador, grab an ice cream in the ice cream museum, or snack on some chocolate in the chocolate museum. You can also walk on the equator “line” and have a traditional Ecuadorean lunch!
Tips for Visiting the Mitad del Mundo
1 ) Go early (or late) for the the photo ops
I would plan to either head to the Mitad del Mundo as soon as they open, or closer to the end of the day. We arrived there around 3 PM and hung out until a little before closing time. The best photos were around 5:30 as people were leaving the park.
2) Spend as little as 3 hours or all day
We spent around 4 hours in the park – had lunch, visited a couple of on-site museums, and went into the main museum/monument. However, you could easily spend all day here if you were to check out everything the city has to offer.
3 ) Drone footage notes
If you’re an avid drone user, be sure to get permission in the administration building prior to flying your drone. I witnessed a couple of people get in trouble because they hadn’t requested permission.
What to see & do
Looking for a checklist of what to visit while at Mitad del Mundo? You can check out the whole map of activities here. Below are some of my personal favorites.
MUSEUMS
- Plaza del Cacao – Chocolate Museum
- Monumento Ecuatorial – Main Equator museum
- Museo de la Cerveza – Beer museum
- Museo de las Virgenes – religious museum dedicated to the saints of Ecuador
- Museum de helado – Museum of Ice Cream
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
- Llamingo’s Farm – llama farm
- Capilla – chapel
- Quito Colonial – replica of colonial Quito
Have you been to Mitad del Mundo? What was your favorite attraction?
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I love your travels, I can’t believe that I had never heard of this place, I love the idea of being in the ‘centre of the earth’, also the idea that there is a Llama Zoo at the centre made me smile
I hadn’t heard of it before planning my trip either!