- Home >
- BCA in Quito, Ecuador >
- About Quito
About Quito
The capital of Ecuador, Quito (full name San Francisco de Quito) lies at 9,000 feet above sea level in a high valley at the base of Mount Pichincha. With a climate referred to as “eternal spring,” Quito is a city of sun and sky and is surrounded by mountains and three snow-capped volcanoes.
Life in Quito offers a mix of Spanish and Indigenous traditions with modern international influences providing a rich and multifaceted backdrop for the study of historical Ecuador. An ever-growing city of around 2 million people Quito’s neighborhoods retains their small city atmosphere. One of the most cultural cities in the world, Quito has plenty to offer, including a beautiful historical center, dozens of museums, theater every week, symphonic concerts, multi-screen movie centers, state-of-the-art shopping centers, numerous parks and recreations centers, and food of all kinds.
Quito is also a city of contrasts, a product of numerous cultural influences and stratified economic conditions. Students will witness such diversity through the disparity between colonial and modern architecture and rich and poor neighborhoods.
BCA Quito students live with middle-class Ecuadorian families and are immersed in local life. Life with a host family enables students to improve their Spanish language skills while experiencing and learning about Ecuadorian culture.
Quito Quick Facts
- Quito’s Historical Center was on the very first list of official United Nations World Heritage Sites, declared in 1978.
- Quito is the oldest South American capital.
- Myth’s claim that Quito was the capital of great kingdom (El Reino de Quito), predating the Incas.
- Quito is only a short drive from the Equator. The name Quito means “Middle of the World” in a pre-Incan indigenous language.
- Between 1736 and 1745, a French scientific mission (including some of the best minds in Europe) studied in Quito, measuring the earth’s circumference at the equator and disseminating the ideas of Voltaire, Rousseau, and Paine.
E-mail us with your questions
Questions? Please call:
1-866-222-6188
