Carbon Neutral 100%
Destinations
Top destinations of the moment in South America
  • Tour Ideas
Trip Types
  • Travel Style
  • Interests and Activities
  • Tour Ideas by Month
  • Continents and Regions
An update from Evaneos
Mitad Del Mundo

Mitad Del Mundo (Ecuador)

Practical information on Mitad Del Mundo

  • Family
  • Relaxation
  • Place or Historical Monument
  • Essential
3 / 5 - 2 reviews
How to get there
20 minutes from Quito by bus
When to go
All year round
Minimum stay
Half a day

Reviews of Mitad Del Mundo

David Debrincat Seasoned Traveller
459 written opinions

Mitad del Mundo is a highly original tourist attraction 20 kilometres to the north of Quito. It's actually where the boundary dividing our planet into two is located. The northern hemisphere lies on one side, and the southern hemisphere on the other. You can have the unique experience of going from one to the other in a single jump here.

My suggestion:
I recommend taking your passport with you so you can get it stamped "Latitude 0°". It's a great thing to show people when you get back to the UK.
My review

Mitad del Mundo is one of the must-seetourist sites in Ecuador. It's one of the essential places to see when visiting the country and makes for a highly original and unique experience.

When I visited Quito, I went to see the equator line. The equator represents the exact middle of our planet, marking the boundary between the northern and the southern hemispheres. There is a sign here on which it states "longitude 78°27’08’’, latitude 0°0’0'' ". However, the true equator actually lies 240 metres further to the north. The calculation error was made by the geodesic mission of 1735 to 1745, led by the Frenchman Charles Marie de La Condamine. Considering the 300-kilometre distance involved, and the fact they only had the techniques available at the time to rely on, this is only a minor error. There is a tower-shaped building topped with a sphere representing the earth located at the entrance to the site. This houses a small museum where there are gorgeous butterflies and huge, absolutely terrifying insects on display. The equator itself is indicated by a painted yellow line. It passes through the centre of a church, an arena and various houses, effectively cutting them in two. Like all tourists, I couldn't resist the temptation to get some photos of myself straddling the line, one foot in the southern hemisphere and the other in the northern one, and with me standing on one side and my companion standing on the other.

Due to the Coriolis effect, I also got to observe some strange physical phenomena. For example, I tried the astonishing experiment involving the balancing of an egg on a nail. It actually works! Mitad del Mundo turned out to be a unique, highly unusual and very enjoyable place to visit: definitely somewhere not to miss.

Standing on the equator line at Mitad del Mundo
Seasoned Traveller
54 written opinions

Latitude 0° 0’ 0’’, where the world is divided! Mitad del Mundo is more like an attraction park than a museum but you can learn some interesting things there.

My suggestion:
Rather than eating on the site, which is very touristy, you should go a bit back down the road to Quito and you will find lots of little restaurants that aren't expensive and are more authentic!
My review

I had only been in Quito a few days but going to Mitad del Mundo seemed to me to be an essential part of my trip to Ecuador. I arrived early in the morning on a weekday because the place is visited by lots of Ecuadorians and quiteños so it's better to avoid the weekends.

After the ticket office and turnstiles (which make you feel a bit like you are in Disneyland!) you get to an imitation colonial village with a muddle of restaurants and souvenir shops.

I found the famous monument in the centre of the site - it's a 43 m high stone tower, crowned with a ball that represents the earth, from which the famous red line marking the equator is drawn. Everyone gets themselves photographed on it and, obviously, I did too. While on the site I also visited the buildings which tell the history of the 1735 scientific expedition that established this famous line...even if it has since been shown that the real line of the equator is about 240 m further away!

Scientists' avenue, Mitad del Mundo