Shopping

Even though Ecuador is a very beautiful country it does not know how to sell itself very well. In Quito a very famous touristic site is El Mercado Artesenal where many souvinears can be found but after a thourough look around you will realize that there is a bit of redundancy in the items in the sense that everyone is basically selling the same thing so after buying a few main items it becomes difficult to find much more variety. Almost everything that can be bought has a price that can be bargained.

Open Air Markets
The produce market and open air markets is an integral part of Cuenca. While you might not find much to buy at the market other than exotic-looking vegetables, you'll be right in the center of a special weekly social occasion that holds the community together with a fiesta-like atmosphere of buying, selling, and visiting.

Ecuador Paja Toquilla "Panama" Hats
If you're seeking high-quality souvenirs, you'll want to inspect the Ecuador straw hats, leather jackets, embroideries, gold jewelry, and ceramics. In fact, you'll find a hat factory and shops that sell only fine Straw hats, which are not made in Panama at all. These hats were first made in Ecuador by poverty-stricken Cuenca residents of the 1830s, trying to make a living. Get yourself a Ecuador hat and save a dying art!

Otavalo Market
Are local craft and product markets high on your travel expectations? Otavalo, a small city and a ride of just over two hours from Quito, is the place for you. Otavalo is by far the most famous indigenous market in Ecuador, and perhaps South America. Villagers from surrounding areas have been bringing their wares down from the hills to the Otavalo market for hundreds of years, spending a day filled with bartering, exchanging, selling, and socializing. Today, the market draws huge crowds of locals and visitors every Saturday (the market is there everyday of the week). Musical instruments, dolls, jewelry, produce, crafts of all sorts -- you'll find it at the market.

Otavalo is especially known for weavings and the people have been accomplished weavers for centuries. You'll discover an array of tapestries and clothes at the market and an almost unbelievable array of colors. A large portion of the market is devoted to tourists, and people flood the streets, making for a circus atmosphere. At a quieter time, you can visit the workshops of the hard-working weavers, working on backstrap and Spanish treadle looms, along with other artisans at work making hats, weaving straw mats, and knitting sweaters.