Museo de Sitio Intiñan - Museum Quito - Ecuador

Just 200 meters (656 ft) north of the Mitad del Mundo monument you will find Ecuador’s actual “middle of the world," marked by the Museo de Sitio Intiñan, or Intiñan Musuem. The museum showcases what modern-day GPS has proven to be the true site of the equator line, for it’s here that your device will actually read zero degrees latitude and zero degrees longitude. Unlike the monument at Mitad del Mundo (a complex that features a multi-story museum, food court and small shopping center), the museum at Intiñan is rather quaint and set in a scenic cactus garden.

Information is presented through a guided tour—which is included in the entrance fee and conducted in English or Spanish. The tour takes visitors through the museums highlights: small artifacts (a real shrunken head!), local history, and best of all, scientific experiments. Although these experiments are reportedly fake, you can still have fun trying to balance an egg on a nail (a feat for which you will receive a certificate), seeing water spin both clockwise and counterclockwise (depending on which side of the line it’s on), and trying to walk in a straight line on the equatorial line.

Intiñan also offers information about some of Ecuador's indigenous tribes, and houses a replica burial chamber (bones and all). In addition to all this, they'll stamp your passport with an authentic equator stamp (Note: like anywhere else, traveling with your passport on public transport to and from the museum can be dangerous).

Location:

The entrance for the museum is off the main highway, less than a block north of the entrance to Mitad del Mundo, on Autopista Manuel Córdova Galarza.

Museum Types:
Science and nature

Getting There

(200 meters from the Mitad del Mundo roundabout). $10 cab ride from Quito

Price Description:

ADMISSION: $4

Relative price: Budget

Open Hours from:daily 9:30 a.m.

Open Hours to:daily 5 p.m.

Days Closed:None

Travel Skills: None

You Need to Bring:

Bring your passport, as you can prove that you visited the center of the world by getting an authentic equator stamp. Like anywhere else, traveling with your passport on public transport to and from the museum can be dangerous.

Mitad del Mundo

Currencies accepted
US dollar

Contact Information:
Phone: 02-239-5122, Cel: 09-9730-9508
URL: www.museointinan.com.ec

About this Page

By Margaret Rode
A self-professed city girl, sassy staff writer Margaret Rode hails from Chicago where she received Bachelor degrees in English Literature and Spanish...

Updated: 13 Mar 2013