Quito

Quito, Ecuador · May 2026

Stayed

JW Marriott Quito, four nights

Paid with

Marriott Bonvoy points

Getting up

The TelefériQo cable car to Cruz Loma

Where

0.19° S · 78.52° W

Part one · The TelefériQo

The cable car from the edge of the city up the side of Volcán Pichincha to Cruz Loma, about ten minutes each way.

The ride up

Cruz Loma

Along the ridge

Grass, lupine and the whole city below

The weather comes in

Back by the station

Part two · Parque La Carolina

I was just walking around for a while and taking pictures as I went.

Fields and courts

The old plane

By the boat pond

The skate park

Around the park

Part three · The old town

The plaza

Streets and churches

Over the rooftops

Up toward the Basílica

Part four · The Basílica del Voto Nacional

You can climb almost all the way up. Stairs, then ladders, then a walkway through the roof.

Outside

The nave from above

Up the tower

Through the hatch

Inside the roof

The clock towers

The view

Back down

Part five · La Ronda and down the hill

La Ronda

Down by the park

Part six · Another afternoon

Walking around

Where I stayed · JW Marriott Quito

Four nights on Marriott Bonvoy points, booked as two stays: 27,000 for the first night and 109,000 for the other three. Breakfast was a buffet.

Breakfast