6 Best Nature Spots Near Quito
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If you want scenery over summits, these six spots cover the range from a city-center park to full day trips into the Andes, without needing to be a serious hiker to enjoy any of them.
La Carolina Park and Botanical Garden
This large park anchors Quito’s modern north side, with paddle boats and jogging paths at ground level and a botanical garden inside it that’s an easy, unhurried way to spend an hour without leaving the city.
Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve
Just 30-45 minutes north, this reserve overlooks an inhabited volcanic crater, with diverse flora and viewpoints over the valley below. It sits right next to the Mitad del Mundo equator monument, so the two pair naturally into a single half-day trip.
Mindo Cloud Forest
About 2 hours northwest, Mindo swaps Quito’s high-altitude chill for warmer, greener cloud forest scenery, built around birdwatching and chocolate tours. It’s a genuinely different climate and landscape from anything in the city itself.
Papallacta
Roughly 1.5-2 hours east, Papallacta’s thermal pools sit surrounded by mountain scenery at altitude, making it as much a scenic stop as a soak. It’s an easy half-day add-on if you’re heading toward the Amazon side of Ecuador.
Cotopaxi’s highland landscape
About 1.5-2 hours southeast, the drive up toward Cotopaxi’s José Rivas refuge at roughly 4,864 meters passes through open highland landscape that’s worth the trip even if you don’t plan to hike far once you’re there. Check current park access before you go, since volcanic activity has affected visits at times in recent years.
Cumbayá valley
A short drive from central Quito, the Cumbayá valley sits lower and noticeably warmer, around 2,200 meters, than the city center. It’s a good half-day reset if the altitude and cooler air up in Quito proper are wearing on you.
Getting there
La Carolina is walkable or a short, cheap taxi ride from most old-town and northern Quito hotels, and it’s open daily with no entry fee. The other five are all day-trip distance, best reached by a licensed taxi, an organized day tour, or a rental car if you’re comfortable driving Andean mountain roads. None of these require specialist gear or a guide, unlike the higher hikes covered elsewhere, so they work well as lower-key days built around a longer, more active trip.
For the hikes that go further into several of these same areas, see our Quito hiking guide .