At 10,000 ft (2850 m), Quito is breathtaking in more ways than one. Situated as it is, twenty-two miles from the Equator, a visitor would expect extremely hot weather but the altitude tempers that. There are no extremes in temperature, and year-round temperatures feel spring-like. There are two seasons, wet and dry, and for convenience sake, the wet season in termed "winter.” This makes Quito an all year-round destination.

Quito is surrounded by natural beauty, by the mountains ringing the city, some volcanic, some with white-capped peaks, lushly forested hills and a fertile valley. Long before the Spanish arrived, Quito was a busy place. It was a major Inca city and was destroyed by the Incas in a scorched earth policy that only briefly halted the Spanish invasion. Sebastián de Benalcázar recognized the city's location and founded San Francisco de Quito on top of the few ruins left him. The founding date, December 6, 1534, is celebrated annually with the Fiestas de Quito.

Flights to Quito

Most visitors concentrate their time in Old Town, for which UNESCO named Quito a cultural heritage site in 1978. Here you'll find the city laid out according to Spanish planning requirements, with the central plaza as the heart of the community. The plaza is bordered by the Palacio de Gobierno, the Cathedral and religious buildings, and the Palacio Presidencial. The Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in South America, and has been repaired and remodeled countless times due to earthquake damage. Heroes of the Independence are honored and several presidents are buried here.

Flights to Quito with Copa Airlines

Mariscal Sucre International Airport is the international airport serving Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. It is named after Venezuelan born Antonio José de Sucre, known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" ,a hero of Ecuadorian and Latin American independence. It began operations in 1960, and currently handles about 3.9 million passengers and 125,000 metric tons of freight per year. The airport, one of the highest in the world (at 2800 meters AMSL) is located in the northern part of the city, in the Chaupicruz parish, within 5 minutes of Quito's financial centre; the terminals are located at the intersection of Amazonas and La Prensa avenues.

Copa Airlines is operating flights to Quito in Ecuador and Panama City.