Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) west of the mainland. The capital city is Quito, while the largest city is Guayaquil.

Quito is situated on the lower slopes of the volcano Pichincha, which last erupted in 1666, in a narrow Andean valley at an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,850 metres), just south of the Equator. The oldest of all South American capitals, Quito is notable for its well-preserved old town, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978.

Quito preserves much of its colonial atmosphere, with the towers of many churches outlined against the circle of volcanoes that surrounds the Quito Basin and with peaceful squares, fountains, balconied houses, steep narrow streets, iron-grilled doorways, and secluded gardens.

Unlike other Latin American cities, where sprawling yet impoverished suburbs ring the core districts, a large proportion of Quito’s poverty-fringe population lives in central city slums.

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