Quito Old Town Food Walk: Mercado Central, Hornado & Helados de Paila
Excursion d'une journée
Visite gastronomique
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Quito, Ecuador
Quito
1N (Durée de participation)
Voiture,À pied (Moyen de transport)
Anglais (Langue)
Nombre de participants 0/8
0 réservés
Description du circuit
Quito's old town is the largest and least altered colonial centre in the Americas, and its central market is where the city has eaten for a century. At two thousand eight hundred and fifty metres, it is also high enough that you will notice.
We start at the Mercado Central. Hornado - a whole pig roasted overnight and carved to order, served with llapingachos, potato cakes fried with cheese, plus mote hominy, avocado and a fierce ají. Caldo de 31, the offal soup Quiteños swear by. Fresh juice from a wall of fruit you will mostly not recognise: naranjilla, tomate de arbol, taxo, guanabana.
Then the old town on foot, slowly: humitas and quimbolitos, corn and cornflour parcels steamed in leaves, with hot chocolate at a cafe that opened in 1950; empanadas de viento, puffed cheese empanadas dusted with sugar; and canelazo, the hot sugarcane spirit with cinnamon and naranjilla that the altitude makes extremely sensible.
We finish with helados de paila, sorbet churned by hand in a copper bowl set in ice and salt, at a shop that has been making it the same way since 1858.
Small group, maximum 8 guests.
We start at the Mercado Central. Hornado - a whole pig roasted overnight and carved to order, served with llapingachos, potato cakes fried with cheese, plus mote hominy, avocado and a fierce ají. Caldo de 31, the offal soup Quiteños swear by. Fresh juice from a wall of fruit you will mostly not recognise: naranjilla, tomate de arbol, taxo, guanabana.
Then the old town on foot, slowly: humitas and quimbolitos, corn and cornflour parcels steamed in leaves, with hot chocolate at a cafe that opened in 1950; empanadas de viento, puffed cheese empanadas dusted with sugar; and canelazo, the hot sugarcane spirit with cinnamon and naranjilla that the altitude makes extremely sensible.
We finish with helados de paila, sorbet churned by hand in a copper bowl set in ice and salt, at a shop that has been making it the same way since 1858.
Small group, maximum 8 guests.
Meeting point:
View on map
Mercado Central, Avenida Pichincha, Centro Historico, Quito
We meet at the main entrance to the Mercado Central on Avenida Pichincha. Your guide will have a small sign with your name. Hotel pick-up in the old town or La Mariscal is included.
Itinéraire détaillé
Stop 1 - Mercado Central: The city's central market, with your guide on Andean tubers, a dozen potato varieties, herbs and the fruit wall.
Stop 2 - Hornado and llapingachos: Whole roast pork carved to order with crackling, cheese-stuffed potato cakes, mote hominy, avocado and ají.
Stop 3 - Fruit juice row: Naranjilla, tomate de arbol, taxo, guanabana and mora, pressed to order, with your guide naming each one.
Stop 4 - Humitas and quimbolitos: Fresh corn and cornflour parcels steamed in leaves, sweet and savoury, with hot chocolate at a cafe open since 1950.
Stop 5 - Old town walk: Plaza Grande, La Compañia and the colonial streets, at a deliberately slow altitude-friendly pace.
Stop 6 - Empanadas de viento and canelazo: Puffed cheese empanadas dusted with sugar, and the hot sugarcane spirit with cinnamon and naranjilla that Quito drinks in the cold.
Stop 7 - Helados de paila: Sorbet churned by hand in a copper bowl set over ice and salt, at a shop doing it the same way since 1858.
Stop 2 - Hornado and llapingachos: Whole roast pork carved to order with crackling, cheese-stuffed potato cakes, mote hominy, avocado and ají.
Stop 3 - Fruit juice row: Naranjilla, tomate de arbol, taxo, guanabana and mora, pressed to order, with your guide naming each one.
Stop 4 - Humitas and quimbolitos: Fresh corn and cornflour parcels steamed in leaves, sweet and savoury, with hot chocolate at a cafe open since 1950.
Stop 5 - Old town walk: Plaza Grande, La Compañia and the colonial streets, at a deliberately slow altitude-friendly pace.
Stop 6 - Empanadas de viento and canelazo: Puffed cheese empanadas dusted with sugar, and the hot sugarcane spirit with cinnamon and naranjilla that Quito drinks in the cold.
Stop 7 - Helados de paila: Sorbet churned by hand in a copper bowl set over ice and salt, at a shop doing it the same way since 1858.
Le prix du circuit comprend
• Small-group English-speaking local food guide (maximum 8 guests)
• All food and drink tastings listed in the itinerary
• One canelazo or hot chocolate
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off in the old town or La Mariscal
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout
• All taxes and service fees
• All food and drink tastings listed in the itinerary
• One canelazo or hot chocolate
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off in the old town or La Mariscal
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout
• All taxes and service fees
Le prix du circuit ne comprend pas
• Prise en charge et retour à l’hôtel, sauf indication contraire
• Boissons supplémentaires en dehors de celles incluses
• Assurance voyage personnelle
• Pourboire au guide (apprécié mais facultatif)
• Repas et achats non prévus au programme
• Boissons supplémentaires en dehors de celles incluses
• Assurance voyage personnelle
• Pourboire au guide (apprécié mais facultatif)
• Repas et achats non prévus au programme
Politique d'annulation et de remboursement
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour start time for a full refund. Cancellations within 24 hours are non-refundable. Tours run rain or shine.
Autres remarques
Runs daily at 09:30.
Altitude: Quito sits at 2,850 metres. We keep the pace deliberately slow, the old town is steep, and we would ask you not to book this for your first few hours in the country. Alcohol hits harder up here, which is another reason the canelazo is a small one. If you have a heart or lung condition, or are pregnant, talk to your doctor before travelling to altitude.
Safety: Ecuador is rated Level 2, exercise increased caution, and the country has been under a nationwide state of emergency, so you will see police and military checkpoints. The coastal provinces carry far higher warnings than Quito. Bag-slashing and mugging in the old town are real, so we run in daylight, keep the group together, and include hotel transfers rather than letting you walk back after dark. Read your own government's advice.
Currency: Ecuador uses the US dollar. Bring small bills; markets are cash only.
Water: tap water is not drinkable. We provide bottled water and we use juice stalls with high turnover and purified water.
Rain: the wet season runs roughly September to May with afternoon downpours. Much of this route is under cover.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Vegetarian is straightforward via llapingachos, humitas, empanadas and the fruit.
About 2 km of walking on steep colonial streets at altitude.
Altitude: Quito sits at 2,850 metres. We keep the pace deliberately slow, the old town is steep, and we would ask you not to book this for your first few hours in the country. Alcohol hits harder up here, which is another reason the canelazo is a small one. If you have a heart or lung condition, or are pregnant, talk to your doctor before travelling to altitude.
Safety: Ecuador is rated Level 2, exercise increased caution, and the country has been under a nationwide state of emergency, so you will see police and military checkpoints. The coastal provinces carry far higher warnings than Quito. Bag-slashing and mugging in the old town are real, so we run in daylight, keep the group together, and include hotel transfers rather than letting you walk back after dark. Read your own government's advice.
Currency: Ecuador uses the US dollar. Bring small bills; markets are cash only.
Water: tap water is not drinkable. We provide bottled water and we use juice stalls with high turnover and purified water.
Rain: the wet season runs roughly September to May with afternoon downpours. Much of this route is under cover.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Vegetarian is straightforward via llapingachos, humitas, empanadas and the fruit.
About 2 km of walking on steep colonial streets at altitude.
Grille tarifaire détaillée
| Type de voyageur | Prix |
|---|---|
| Adulte | $49 |
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