Mitad del mundo
The equator line or 0 degree latitude divides the planet into southern and northern hemisphere and it’s about 40,075 kilometers long. Countries situated on the latitude 0 are: Brazil, Colombia, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Kenya, Kiribati, Maldives, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia and Uganda. While you are in Ecuador one of places to visit is of course the equator line.
A half day trip from Quito is Mitad del Mundo or middle of the world. There is a statue and a park. The park is situated on the equator line, or actually later with modern GSP technology it’s discovered that the equator line is 240 meters north from the marked line. There is another park on the real equator called Inti-Ñan Solar Museum, where you can do different test that proves you are on the equator.
The park Mitad del Mundo has restaurants, shops and museum, but I wouldn’t recommend much shopping there because it’s rather expensive place for souvenirs.
Getting to the Mitad del Mundo is easy, you can book a guided half day tour from many tourist offices in Quito. If you want to visit the monument independently you can go there by taxi about $15 one way, or by public bus from Cotocallao stop. Buses are marked with Mitad del Mundo and the bus costs 40¢.
Mitad del mundo and me
Opening hours 9am-6pm daily, entry $2
Ethnographic Museum $3
Planetarium $1.50
Inti-Ñan Solar Museum:
Open 9.30am-5.30pm, entry $4
Notice that the prices and opening hours can change.
PS. I forgot my camera at home so the pictures are taken with a phone, sorry for that…
