The equator runs across northern Ecuador, a short ride from Quito, and the hills east of the capital, around Cayambe, hold some of the most interesting ancient sites in the country. This segment of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road network recognised by UNESCO, links the pucará at Campana and the hill of Quitoloma, and the word pucará means fortress in Quechua. The Inca extended their empire into this region late, in the decades before the Spanish conquest, and they met fierce resistance from the local peoples, the Caranquis, who fought from hilltop forts. The landscape bears the marks of those wars in earthworks, ramparts and ditches on the hills.
The setting is magnificent. Cayambe volcano, at about five thousand eight hundred metres, rises above the plain with a permanent cap of ice, and the equator crosses its southern flank, the only point on the line with year-round snow, while the grass-covered páramo below is dotted with horses, cattle and indigenous farmers. Mist forms and clears quickly, and the air is cold and thin. The area also has older sites, such as the pyramids at Cochasquí, built by the Quitu-Cara people a thousand years ago, which are very close and can be combined in one outing.
The roads are good by Andean standards. The Panamericana climbs and falls across the high plains with smooth curves, and the road from Quito to Cayambe is busy, with trucks and buses and flower farms, since Cayambe is one of the biggest rose-growing regions in the world. Side roads to the pucarás are cobbled or gravel and can be slippery in rain. Altitude brings cold, and wind is common, so warm layers are essential. The dry months from June to September are the most reliable, and the mornings are clearest.
Cayambe, twelve kilometres away, is a town of about twenty-seven thousand people, known for its biscuits, bizcochos, which are baked in wood ovens and eaten with local cheese and a cup of hot chocolate. It has fuel stations, supermarkets and restaurants. Quito, a city of historic beauty and a UNESCO centre, is about an hour south. Fill your tank before going to the hills, bring water and sun protection, since UV is strong at altitude, and be respectful of farms and community lands when exploring.