Otavalo & surroundings Travel Guide
Indiginous markets and stunning landscapes, in the Awakening Valley
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Otavalo is one of the most popular places to visit in Ecuador, with its famous Saturday craft market, the largest in South America.
Every day the Otavalos gather at the main plaza and put up many stalls full of ponchos, scarves, blankets, wall hangings, woven belts, hats, handbags and much more. Visitors to Otavalo also enjoy exploring small towns, specialized in leatherwork, woodcarving and weaving.
A night at one of the wonderful haciendas provides ample time to explore the fertile Valley of Otavalo, its landscapes of mountains, lakes and corn fields, see the artisans at work and visit Indian communities.
The Otavalos, are a particularly interesting group of people because of their ancestral cultural heritage, enriched by millenary traditions, myths, legends and customs; a very prosperous community of skilled textile weavers, who gather to sell their products at the market as they have done for centuries.
A major aspect of the Otavalo Indian ethnic identity is their native dress. Men wear a blue poncho, white shirt and calf-length trousers, a fedora-type hat and their hair combed in a long braid. Women dress in embroidered blouses, blue skirts and shawls plus several layers of golden necklaces and red bead bracelets.
Attractions in Otavalo & surroundings
Explore the fertile Valley of Otavalo, its landscapes of mountains, lakes and corn fields, see the artisans at work, visit Indian communities and its wonderful people. Visit the town of San Antonio de Ibarra, famous for the woodcarvings, the town of Cotacachi, an entire town dedicated to selling fine leather products, and the town of Peguche where textiles are woven in old-fashioned shuttle looms, and spend the night at one of the charming country inns or colonial haciendas.
Activities in Otavalo & surroundings
There are many possibilities in and around Otovalo, which could easily fill up several days. These include:
Otavalo Indigenous market
Peguche and weavings
Cotacachi and the leather goods
Cuicocha and San Pablo Lakes
Zuleta and the embroidery workshop
San Antonio de Ibarra and the woodcarving
Colonial Haciendas
Relaxing
Relax at comfortable country inns or haciendas with wonderful Spas.
Getting Around
Drive on the PanAmerican Highway, two hours north of Quito.
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