• What to know if you go

Christoph Hirtz/Inglesia de la Campañia (ENLARGE)

The high altar of Iglesia de la Campañia in Quito built in 1735.

Chris Hunt/Staff (ENLARGE)

Ecuador grows fine coffee beans, but instant Nescaf? is served all over. This 1-pound bag of the real thing cost $5.

Chris Hunt/Staff (ENLARGE)

This 'Panama' hat was made in Ecuador, where the hats originated. A good-quality hat sells for about $20.

Amanda miller/Staff (ENLARGE)

The Saturday market in Otavalo, Ecuador, draws thousands of visitors, who shop for wares created by indigenous artisans. Items range from handwoven rugs, scarves, belts and purses to embroidered blouses or wood or stone carvings.

Amanda miller/Staff (ENLARGE)

The renovated home of the first president of Ecuador, Juan Jos? Flores, will open next year to tourists and include an art gallery.

Quito, Ecuador — High above the city, 72 feet to be exact, I'm inching around the 2-foot-wide ledge of the 17th-century bell tower of the Iglesia de la Compañia, trying without much success to tamp down vertigo. Oddly, I feel both terrified and exhilarated.

The tower, when restoration is completed in February, will be more than twice as tall, and the perfect vantage point to view the city's crazy quilt of centuries-old buildings and modern construction. Right now, it's closed to tourists, but invited guests reach the tower by an ancient circular, rickety stairway, in places missing its railings. Better not get dizzy.

Ecuador is noted for its outdoor travel opportunities, especially for seeing exotic animals and swimming with sea lions and giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands. In this small country of 13 million people, you can also trek in the Amazon jungle or get close to whales cavorting off the coast. Who knew there would be nearly as many thrills in its capital city of 1.4 million people and the volcanic region around it?

A visit to Quito, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, blends history and adventure in unexpected ways.

The elevation

The city is at a breathtaking 9,300 feet, almost twice that of "mile high" Denver and so high some people might suffer minor altitude sickness — fatigue or mental confusion from thin air.

Susan Carter of Gardendale, Ala., had a mild bout when she first arrived for a visit with her daughter Julie, who is getting her masters at Auburn University and was in Quito working for the summer.

"It's just a weird feeling," she says, trying to describe the sensation of lightheadedness later. Even climbing stairs takes an effort and your mind goes goofy, is how I'd describe it, though the symptoms dissipated within a few hours.

The driving

Our guide Julio Rivas, debonair in pressed jeans, a pink golf shirt, sunglasses and a white Panama hat, is at the wheel of an older-model Mercedes station wagon. He's whipping past slower traffic — cars, buses, bikes, anything in his way — on winding mountain roads to Otavalo and Cotacachi. I'm pumping my imaginary brakes, but he's unconcerned and in command, weaving in and out of traffic with the total assurance of a NASCAR driver. "I'm sorry if I scare you," he allows when I let out an involuntary yelp after a particularly close call.

In truth, Rivas isn't a menace on the roads — if the other drivers weren't so erratic and intent on speed, or moving so slowly they're a hazard. That's a big IF, and the mere act of getting from place to place is sometimes as hair-raising as an out-of-control raft trip down white-water rapids.

Accidents are so prevalent that a "blue heart" campaign is attempting to raise auto safety awareness in Quito. You see blue hearts everywhere, painted on streets at the site of fatal accidents.

The markets

The mountain towns of Otavalo and Cotacachi are payback for the risk of getting there. Otavalo is famous for its enormous, crowded Saturday market, where indigenous artisans sell woven tapestries, belts and scarves, hand-knitted clothing, embroidered blouses, baskets and bags, even hammocks. And, of course, the misnamed "Panama" hats, which originated in Ecuador, first woven from toquilla straw by Incas in the 1500s. They got the tag "Panama" when workers on the Panama Canal wore them to protect against the sun.

The hubbub of the market often takes people by surprise. "I've never seen anything like it in my life," says Crissie Eells of Portland, Ore., who visited with her husband, Daniel. He grew up in Bogota, Colombia, the son of missionaries, and spent two years in Quito, and even he was impressed. "The place was packed," he says, "people in front of us, people behind us, booths stretching in all directions."

Visitors who want a less claustrophobic experience can go on other days, when the market is smaller and crowds thinner.

The Eellses say the market was definitely worth their long bus ride to get there, and to Cotacachi, a town noted for its leather craftsmanship. High-quality wallets, purses and knapsacks sell for low prices — you can find a splendid handbag for as little as $20.

The lakes

We stopped for lunch at picturesque Hostería Jatuncocha on 1,400-acre San Pablo Lake, where Quiteños and tourists vacation for mountain air and adventures — using personal watercraft, windsurfing, kayaking, canoeing, hiking and riding horses or mountain bikes.

It's owned by Rivas' sister — and we realize as time goes by that he's related to half of Quito; the other half are personal friends or business contacts. His mother's family is one of Quito's founding families.

The food

At Hostería Jatuncocha and everywhere else in Ecuador, the juices make the meal feel special: frothy blackberry, passion fruit, guanabana, nectarine or sweet tomato and numerous others. You'll find the same unusual flavors in helado de paila, a type of light ice cream.

Juice is preferable to the coffee — instant Nescafé is served everywhere. To get the fine coffee that's one of Ecuador's exports, you want "essence of coffee." It's essentially brewed coffee and coffee oils you stir into hot water or hot milk.

Two Ecuadorean dishes were unusual and delicious: corn tostada, an appetizer mix of popcorn, corn and dried bananas, and a potato and corn soup topped with cheese and eaten with a sliced avocado. Seviche, fish marinated in citrus juice, is ubiquitous and too tasty to pass up.

Really adventurous tourists opt for an Ecuadorean delicacy, cuy, or guinea pig. I'd rather be clinging to a bell tower.

The haciendas

For us, the mountain trip includes a glimpse of Ecuador's colonial history, in visits to three of its most noted haciendas, now operated as hotels. Rivas, of course, is acquainted with — or related to — the families that originally owned them.

Hacienda Guachalá, near Cayambe and the equatorial line, is the oldest in Ecuador with construction on some of the property dating to 1580. The early-17th-century Hacienda Cusín, 20 minutes south of Otavalo, is a beautifully restored estate with cobblestone pathways through lush gardens. Hacienda Pinsaquí, constructed in 1790 just north of Otavalo, hosted many important guests in the 1800s, among them Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan general known as "El Libertador" for leading efforts to free Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru from Spanish conquerors.

On the trip back to Quito — a replay of the trip north, only this time on a dark, winding road — we stop in the town of Cayambe, noted for its dairy products. Cheese and biscuits (queso de oja, a mild white cheese rolled in leaves, and biscochos de Cayambe, delicate, feather-light biscuits) taste nothing like the Southern variety.

The TelefériQo

From our hotel room the next morning, we have a clear view of the snow-covered 19,347-foot Cotopaxi volcano, and we delay plans to take in historic buildings in favor of the year-old TelefériQo. It lifts you via cable to 12,300 feet at the base of the Pichincha volcano, high enough for a spectacular view of the city and a new dose of altitude sickness. (It's not recommended for very young children, people older than 65, those with heart conditions — or those with vertigo.)

Visitors come not only for the view but for the amusement park and carnival rides, a disco, shopping center and restaurants and bars.

Once at the top, we take a path another 200 feet higher. Some climbers go all the way to the top of the more-than-15,000-foot volcano, or tackle some of the other volcanoes throughout Ecuador.

We're breathing hard just 200 feet higher, and people with low blood pressure experience tingling or numb hands and feet. But finally we understand why mountain climbers get so hooked on their sport.

"We're afraid of many of the volcanoes right now because we've seen some activity," Rivas tells us. Scientists are watching to see if the rumblings might lead to an eruption. In 1999, Pichincha erupted, coating Quito and surrounding towns in ash.

The Old Town

Leaving the TelefériQo, we thought we were back down to earth, but we were blown away by the colonial architecture of Old Town.

First stop: Independence Square and the Presidential Palace. The palace faces east, so the president receives the first rays of the sun, based on Inca beliefs. The city of Quito takes its name from early settlers, the Quitu people; Ecuador comes from the Spanish word for equator.

Some of Ecuador's recent presidents have not held office long, though Quiteños have hopes for political stability. In 2000, a three-person junta took charge of the country from President Jamil Mahuad, who lost popularity after he led efforts to replace the sucre currency with the U.S. dollar. (American tourists loved this switch as much as Ecuadoreans might have hated it.) Vice President Gustavo Noboa then replaced the junta. In January 2003, a member of the junta, retired Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, took office after being elected president, but he fled the country in April 2005. Vice President Alfredo Palacio assumed the presidency, and elections are being held this fall.

Rivas took us to the little-visited Archivo Metropolitano de Historia (the municipal historical archive), on the estate of the first president of Ecuador, Juan José Flores. (Flores' wealthy wife, Rivas notes, was the real owner of the palatial home.)

Inside the library are significant treasures — amazingly well-maintained documents, bound in exquisitely carved wooden covers, that detail the founding of Quito in 1534, artifacts as significant to Quiteños as our Declaration of Independence.

"We are the only city in South America that has preserved the records of our founding," archivist Diego Chiriboga Murgueitio says proudly.

The home itself houses the Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural, run by — of course — Rivas' cousin. The institute parcels out funding and oversees the many restoration projects under way in Quito and Ecuador. The elegant 1780s home is undergoing renovation and will open next year to tourists; a gallery in one part of the home will showcase Ecuador's noted artists, past and present.

The tower

The Iglesia de la Compañia, where the bell tower is being restored, is often called the most beautiful church in South America. It's hard to argue with that assessment.

No gold was spared when construction began in 1605 — more than 100 pounds of gold leaf decorate almost every available surface. In two cupolas, you'll see an Inca surprise: golden representations of the sun. The effect is stunning, especially since the completion of restoration in December 2005.

Maria Torres-Villa, a Quito native who's a bilingual psychologist for Gwinnett County schools, happened to be visiting the church at the same time we were. Naturally, Rivas recognized family members with her as friends and struck up a conversation.

"They've done a wonderful job with the restoration," Torres-Villa said later in an e-mail about the church where she took her first Holy Communion and attended Mass as a child. "The art and religious pieces look more impressive and brilliant."

(Torres-Villa and her children, Mateo Villa, 13, and Ana Villa, 11, were on a monthlong visit they planned when Delta Air Lines announced its expanded routes to South America. They jumped on the introductory airfare of under $600 round trip. Two highlights of the trip were riding atop the "El Cotopaxi" train to the volcano and taking a whale-watching tour to see humpbacks. "This was an experience we will never forget," she says. "One of them was as close as 6 feet from our boat. We were in awe, amazement and even a little bit of fear to see those giant gentle animals.")

But back to the church: Architects are painstakingly re-creating the tower, which lost more than half its original height in an 1868 earthquake. When the work is completed in February, visitors will pay a small admission fee to take an elevator up 72 feet, then climb new and safer stairs to a height of almost 150 feet.

Tourists will have a grand view of Old Town landmarks, including the plaza and Monastery of San Francisco, Ecuador's oldest church. When construction of the Monastery of San Francisco began in 1534, indigenous artisans believed mirrors brought by the Spaniards were as valuable as gold, and mirrors are incorporated into the altar, Rivas points out. By the time construction began on the Iglesia de la Compañia, the Indians had caught on to the ruse, and there's not a mirror to be found.

(We have Rivas to thank for our visit to the tower and our 72-foot view from the top — he's acquainted with the architects. At every stop, his business or family contacts made our trip more special.)

The Middle of the World

No tourist in Quito can resist a visit to La Mitad del Mundo (the Middle of the World), about 20 minutes from Quito.

You can put one foot in the Southern Hemisphere and one in the Northern and snap your basic "I was here" photo.

Actually, the tourist attraction would be a good place to start your visit, if you haven't read much about Ecuador's diverse regions. One of the main buildings, the Equator Monument, has a museum with artifacts and history from each area, a primer to the country.

The top of the world

A good place to end your visit is where we ended ours: High on a hill in one of Quito's first neighborhoods overlooking the city at sunset. We lingered for one last glimpse.

"They say if you see the city spread before you at nightfall, you'll come back," Rivas says.

I bet a friend told him that, or maybe a relative.

IF YOU GO

Delta Air Lines started direct flights in June to Quito, then on to Guayaquil, on Ecuador's coast. Round-trip tickets in late September are about $750 to Quito and about $840 to Guayaquil, a city worth visiting in its own right and where visitors can catch planes to the Galapagos Islands.

Where to stay

• In the new city: Swissôtel, Av. 12 de Octubre, 1820 y Luis-Cordero; a modern high-rise with all the amenities you'd expect from a Swissôtel — plush beds, down comforters, indoor/outdoor heated pool, full-service Amrita Spa — for as little as $125 per night; excellent buffets for about $15 per person. 011-593-22-567600, www.swissotel.com.

• In Old Town: Patio Andaluz, García Moreno N6-52, between Mejía and Olmedo; an elegant boutique hotel in a restored historic building. 011-593-22-280830, www.hotelpatioandaluz.com.

For a guide

• Julio Rivas is your man. He speaks fluent English and has extensive knowledge of Quito's history and landmarks. 011-593-22-94173563 or e-mail j.rivas@hotmail.com.

• Bilingual Metropolitan Policemen conduct tours of Old Town on Tuesdays-Sundays. $10 adults, $5 children. Inquire at Corporación Metropolitana de Turismo below.

Information

• On Quito: Corporación Metropolitana de Turismo, www.quito.com.ec

• On Ecuador: Ecuador Tourist Board, 1-800-328-2367,

www.ecuadortouristboard.com