Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tend to all be within a couple of blocks of the train station and Obelisk
near the streets Guerrero, Velasco and Narváez.
Tulcán
Most services and hotels here are located near the Central Plaza at
Suere and 10 de Agosto. Downtown is pretty compact, with the
Tour-
ism Office
at Bolívar and Pinchincha, and the
post office
several
blocks to the north on Bolívar, near Junín.
Touring & Sightseeing
Calderón
Calderón, a small village north of Quito on the Pan-
American Highway, can be an interesting stop for the sou-
venir hunter. The people of Calderón are known for their
tradition of making small figurines and other ornaments
out of bread dough, intricate objects that make great gifts and Christ-
mas-tree ornaments. If you're in the vicinity on November 1-2 (“Dia
de Los Muertos”), check out the local ceremonies that incorporate the
figurines as symbols of pre-colonial animal and human sacrifices (see
Festivals
on previous page). The figurines are also used to help deco-
rate the community cemetery, but be aware that locals aren't particu-
larly fond of pictures being taken during this time.
Cayambe
The pleasant village of Cayambe is most noted for the cheese-rich
dairy farms that surround it and for the towering mass of
Cayambe
Volcano
that dominates the scenery to the east. If ice climbing and
crevasses aren't your thing, however, the surrounding countryside of-
fers plenty of easier high-altitude hiking near the western edge of the
Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve
. See
Ecotravel
, page 139, for
more details.
The town itself does not offermuch for the foreign traveler, unless you
are a big
chocolate
fan, in which case you can always visit the local
Nestlé factory. The cheese and tasty biscuits are renowned here, and
worth stopping for at one of the local factories. Cayambe is also
known for its export flower industry, which is a major contributor to
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