Country Info
- Quito
- Capital
- US dollar (USD)
- Currency
- 13,183,978
- Population
- EC
- Country Code
Otavalo Slideshow
Otavalo
Travel Blogs from Otavalo, Ecuador
Fiesta time
... I left after a few. The aussie however, awoke at 4am to some loud crowing, to find a rooster perched high waking all up and wondering how the hell it got there. Unsure what it is about Otavalo and b.packers accumulating random pets. Sure was funny ...
Otavalo - artisans market
Of course my favourite market in Otavalo was the artisans craft market. Hundreds of stalls filled the Plaza de Ponchos and overflowed into adjacent streets. Piles and piles of gorgeous textiles, woollen jumpers, blankets, beaded jewelery, wood ...
Weaving their way to prosperity
Three hours from the Colombia-Ecuador border, Otavalo was our first stop in Ecuador. Today, the town is mostly populated by indigenous people, and the stark contrast from the mestizo population of Colombia was immediately obvious. This has not always been ...
Seeing the shaman
Sorry for saying Travelpod had great maps - even though there is a bigger map of Ecuador, I cannot pin exactly on Otavalo :-( Because I had no plans for the weekend and didn´t know anything in Quito, I welcomed Estefanie´s offer to join her and her ...
Quito...the start of South America
... arm trick. Saturday was by far the best day. Two more Jaycees, Danny and Santi, took us to the market town of Otavalo. It was great fun pottering around the stalls practicing our spanish. It is so impressive that everyone seems to know the history and ...
Colombia Comment
... and roads without holes suggest corruption is not total. Some beautiful architecture too, and all houses seem fully built (a contrast with Ecuador). Cocaine and cannabis are both legal to possess and both illegal to buy or sell. You work it out. The war ...
Weekend trip to Otavalo
... ! And to get my socks dry, even after 2 days, I had to pìn them to my bag when I went hiking! I really liked Otavalo - despite its ugly exterior, it was a warm and friendly place, with welcoming people who always greeted you with a smile and a "buenos ...
Travelling with a rug in my backpack
... and locals and tourists and little men selling sweet doughnut-type balls covered in sugar....mmmmm. Eating and shopping heaven. Otavalo is a quietish place outside of Saturday with enough touristy restaurants to push the chicken and rice out of the ...
Otavalo - Cascada de Peguche
... , after a leisurely breakfast chat with some other travellers in the hotel, I decided to visit the Cascada de Peguche - a waterfall close to Otavalo. What was supposed to be a 2 hour return walk ended up taking about 3 1/2 hours due to the crap ...
Otavalo - weaving through to the Panamas
Chalk up another couple of semi-suicidal bus trips. Made our way out to Otavalo, 3hrs NE of Quito. Crossed the equator and headed down to the Imbabura Province and the market town to have a quick peek at their wares. The bigger show is on Saturday, the ...
Otavalo
... wet and a few (or a few hundred) dollars worse off, but with all manner of wares and crafts. Our brief attempt to explore Otavalo's (non-existent) nightlife was fruitless, so back the the hostel, a few games of cards, and to bed. Cotocachi, next port ...
Otavalo - food market
On my way back from the animal market, I checked out the food market at one end of town. It was similar to many at home, with lots of lovely fresh fruit and vegetables for sale, except at this market you could also buy half a sheep carcass, or a ...
Mercado de Otavalo
... mon délire immersion indigène, j'ai également passé une nuit dans une famille indigène d'une petite communauté située près d'Otavalo. Et... déception... dans le sens où j'ai plus eu l'impression d'etre une vache à lait qu'autre chose. Meme ...
The Market
So this is the second time we are in Otovalo, actually. The first time was at the end of the last trip right before Quito, and since this is technically a new trip with new people, it makes sense that we would stop here briefly again, since it is ...
Grand market for 100's of years, now for tourists
Enjoyed the sun at a very touristy market and tomorrow am off to the ...
Otavalo para buscar un otavaleno claro
... been grown cuye ' small rodent that is eaten in the highlands then we went to the middle of the earth where i straddled the ecuador because you know, thats what you do... it was rockin{ went to a little cultural museum and then watched a lovely little ...
Otavalo/Gender Roles
... my backpack is much smaller and lighter than their bundles. They do this for a living though, every day. Since the market in Otavalo is such a tourist attraction, vendors hike up their prices. If they see you and know you're not a local, they will ...
Treasures!
... I always kept an eye out for such a ring. Never to be found, never to be seen. That saturday at the market in Otavalo, between panama hats and alpaca ponchos, we were looking at a jewellery display. Kirsten showed me that ring she liked. A nice silver ...
Otavalo
Saturday is Market day! We traveled back up the road from whence we came to Otavalo, the big market near Quito, 2 hours away. It was massive, well touristy as there were more white people there than locals but it was cool, I bought a hoodie, t ...
Shoptastic
One massive market that takes over the town every Saturday, and I mean takes over, it feels like every available spot is used. Textiles and woollens dominate but beads and paintings are also everywhere, as well as the inevitable food stalls. ...
A grand day out
... for a while we decide to call it a day. We jump on a passing bus which plays cumbia - the real soundtrack of Ecuador - at deafening levels. Most of the people stay behind to finish their party, after all Ecuadoreans are well used to tear gas. ...
Forever Blowing Bubbles
... the sponsors, listening to booming Western rock music. Remember, this is Sunday morning. Catholicism seems to have very little grip on Ecuador. We resisted the free concert and headed out to the lagoon. Cuicocha sits in the basin of an active volcano and ...
South America's best market
Otavalo is the big market town of South America - reputedly the best one around. We arrived early on Friday so we could stay at a great littel hostel called La Luna. It is up in the hills overlooking the town with views of the two large 4500m volcanoes. ...
Otavalo
... there we had to backtrack a bit until we could get on the Pan -American ad drive to the town of Otavalo. This is the largest market town in all of Ecuador and so we will be ready to go there tomorrow morning, We eventually found a camp-site that we could ...
OtavaloOtavlaoOtavalo!
Today we hopped a taxi-bus combo 2 hours north to Otavalo, a town in the northern highlands of Ecuador, an area of mountains, lakes and small pueblos. Bad idea to go to Otavalo, the largest open-air market in the world, on our 3rd day of travel with ...
Otavalo Peghuge y Lago San Paolo
... fresh juice in a Cafe Teressa in Otavalo. After that we made our way to the Cascade en Pechuge, about 15 minutes from Otavalo. Lot's of nice trees and the refreshing sound of the waterfall, pouring down, who knows how long. Some Ecuadorians jumped ...
The famous Indian Market
... and it was mostly just locals left. The drive to Otavalo was stunning and it keeps surprising us how mountainous Ecuador is. Driving down into Otavalo was picture perfect, the large Cayambe volcano sweeping down to a lake which looked more like a puddle ...
This little piggy went to market....
... , called Chukitos Hostel, for US$6 a night. We got a private room with cable TV, ensuite and breakfast (with eggs!) included. Otavalo is a clean and tidy place. It has a very high percentage of indigineous people. The local people here look like Indian ...
Hace Frio! (It´s cold)
Just a 2 hour bus ride away, we arrived in the market town of Otavalo, in the Northern highlands of Ecuador. In Quito, when our cab turned towards the bus station, the driver kinda just dropped us along the road outside, and we were left having people ...