El Teleférico

To the west of Quito there is a mountain range that is quite prominent and includes an active volcano (Pichincha). It last exploded in 2001... Well, in 2005 the city of Quito managed to pull together enough money to have a gondola (or teleférico) that can take tourists to the top of the first layer of mountains in order to enjoy the views. And, once you get up there you can hike a little further into the mountain range or you can opt to rent a horse or two for an hour.  We decided to hike.

One of the mountains in the back ridge that is only sometimes visible when in Quito. 

We started our hike at around 4,100 meters (14,000 feet), so we were literally in the clouds sometimes.

North Quito.