Otavalo Travel Guide

Otavalo is a must-see. A nice town north of Quito. Traveling from Quito to Otavalo will take around 2 hours. It is probably the best place in the whole country to buy handicrafts and Indian clothes, but you have to bargain hard. You will enjoy a lot visiting the main Andean market of South America. It has a good tourist infrastructure.  Once you are there there are many local buses that travel to interesting places that you should visit once you are here.  The surrounding mountains are breathtaking.

By the way, many Indigenous Ecuadorians playing music and selling these kinds of things are actually from the Otavalo area.

The population of Otavalo is predominantly indigenous (Quechua) and they are actually very successful in creating a prosperous  self sustainable city. They own many businesses themselves, have done excellent education/schooling and  they are an excellent example for the rest of the indigenous people in the region.  Many of them also travel extensively overseas...