In 1736 a team of scientists sponsored by the French Academy of Sciences arrived in Ecuador with the most up-to-date astro-labs, compasses, telescopes and other scientific instruments. Part of their mission was to calculate the precise position of the equatorial line as it passed through the country. They also wanted to take readings to resolve disputes about the shape of the Earth. The work of the eight-year Geodetic Mission in Ecuador showed that the earth did indeed bulge in the middle, as English scientist Isaac Newton had predicted. At the same time the scientists helped lay the foundations for the metric system that eventually became the global standard.

Busts of these twelve learned scientists [nine members of the Academy of Science in Paris, two Spanish mathematicians and one Ecuadorean scientist] can be seen be seen at Mitad del Mundo [The Centre of the Earth], some 15 km [nine miles] north of Quito. More prominent than the busts, though, is the massive 30m [100ft] high obelisk of volcanic rock capped with a brass globe four metres [13 ft] in diametre. This tapered tower was built in 1986 to replace a smaller one erected in 1936 to mark the 200th anniversary of the Geodetic Mission. The massive monument straddles the equator line as delineated by the scientists.

The most popular activities for visitors to Mitad del Mundo are walking the equator line, being photographed on both sides of the world at the same time, or just jumping from one side of the earth to the other. There is also a deep fascination among visitors about whether water turns in opposite directions in the southern and northern hemispheres as it drains from a basin or flushes from a toilet. Efforts to resolve this riddle - and to achieve a straight flush exactly on the equatorial line - keep children occupied for hours.

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Things to see

The complex of facilities surrounding the monument at Mitad del Mundo has developed a theme park atmosphere. Partially built as a typical colonial town, there are gift shops, restaurants, a tourist office, a planetarium, a very good model of Old Quito and even a bullring, used very occasionally. But the main attraction is the monument itself that houses an excellent ethnographic museum. After buying a ticket [US$3.00*], visitors take the elevator to the ninth floor to an observation deck for a panoramic view of the surrounding hills. Walking down the stairs, you pass through the museum with dioramas and displays of ethnic costumes and artifacts that give a vivid and informative picture of Ecuador's diverse cultural groups.

On the other side of the village is a small solar museum, open only by appointment, containing an intriguing solar chronometer and other astronomical gadgets. Those interested in seeing the museum should contact its curator, Oswaldo Munoz [+593 2 552839] in Quito. Incan and pre-Incan artifacts indicate that the early inhabitants studied the path of the sun and were aware of the significance of the equator, as well as the special magic of this location. They were also able to predict eclipses as far ahead as this present century.

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Places to visit

Interestingly, it has been suggested that the equator has shifted in the last two thousand years due to a wobble of the earth on its axis. According to this theory, a pair of peaks known as La Marca, just five kilometres [three miles] North of La Mitad, were on the previous line, as was the nearby pre-Columbian solar observatory of Rumicucho, the ruins of which are currently being excavated by the Banco Central. Possibly connected to this cosmic pattern is another site further to the east, Cochasqui, where there are tombs that look like truncated pyramids and where, even these days, there are dance festivals on solstices and equinoxes.

A further site of interest lies 8km from Quito towards San Antonio called Pomasqui where the village is purported to be a holy tree where Jesus Christ gave a visitation and performed supernatural miracles while a church nearby shows a set of paintings displaying the miracles. The tree itself is now encased in its own building and is known as El Senor del Arbol.

Of further interest is the Equator line that has a symbolic concrete globe situated around 8 kilometers south of Cayambe reachable via bus from Quito taking about 2 hours [US$1*], don't forget to ask the driver to drop you off at the Mitad del Mundo near Guachala.

Some 4^1/2 km Northwest of the Middle of the world monument lies Pululahua geo-botanical reserve. Inside the reserve you will find the Pululahua crater best seen in the mornings with lesser cloud coverage.

To walk down into the crater there is a rustic looking track that takes you inside and where you'll experience a myriad of rich vegetation and heated microclimate due to the steepness of the walls. The walk takes around 30-40 minutes to descend to the crater's inner bowels and is entered via the Mirador de Ventanillas viewpoint from the southeast slopes. The crater is extinct so don't worry about being boiled alive in a cauldron of lava or being boiled to a cinder! The crater's dimensions are 400m in depth and spans five kilometres in diametre. There are also two coned shaped peaks inside the crater called Loma Pondona 2970m and Loma El Chivo. The reserve itself is around 3380 hectares in size and also is home to a variety of birds and flowers. The entrance fee is around US$5.00* [Only by car and through Moraspungo]. No charges are applied for hiking or viewing it from Mirador de Ventanillas.

Further east on the same path is the 5,790m [19,300 ft] peak of Volcan Cayambe, the third-tallest mountain in Ecuador and the highest point in the world on the equator. There is an enormous cylinder on the flanks of the mountain, where at noon on solar equinox the sun makes no shadow in the circle. Whatever the significance of these ancient sites, the ghosts of inhabitants past still cast their magic. As you look up to the sky, you can imagine the heavens stretching equally and infinitely from pole to pole while the earth spins beneath your feet.

Getting there

Buses from Quito [US$0.80*] to Mitad del Mundo leave from the El Tejar bus stop in the old town. You can also get on them as they pass along Avenida America in the new town. If you'd preeger to avoid the weekend bus crowds, take a taxi or contact a travel agency in Quito to join a guided tour.

*Prices are approximate

Last updated 26th July 2006

|Article contributed by Dominic Hamilton|||

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