La Carolina Park

La Carolina Park is the green heart of modern Quito, a large rectangular park at the centre of the Ecuadorian capital's business and residential north. Surrounded by high-rise offices, malls and apartment towers, it provides the city's most important recreational open space between the two Andean ridges that frame the valley.

Its significance is as a public gathering place. On weekends the park fills with families, joggers, cyclists and footballers, and it hosts fairs, concerts and civic events through the year. Its facilities include sports fields, a boating lake, a botanical garden, a vivarium of reptiles and amphibians, and an aquatic centre, making it a hub of everyday life for the surrounding modern districts.

The park sits in the north of Quito, well away from the colonial old town but at the centre of the newer city, easily reached by the trolleybus and metro. From its open lawns the great volcanoes and green hillsides that ring the capital rise on all sides, a reminder of the dramatic Andean setting even amid the towers.

For visitors, La Carolina offers a relaxed local experience. Walk or cycle its paths, rent a pedal boat, or visit the botanical garden and the vivarium, both modestly priced and popular with families. The park is free, flat and safe by day, though as in any city, valuables are best kept discreet. At Quito's altitude, above 2,800 metres, take the exercise gently and use sun protection. Combined with the nearby shopping and dining of the modern north, it makes an easy break from sightseeing. For travellers wanting to see how contemporary Quito lives and unwinds, this central park is the natural place. An open-air gymnasium and skate areas draw a younger crowd, while food carts around the perimeter serve empanadas and other Ecuadorian street snacks.