While I was in Quito one of the many day trips that I did was visiting the Equator line “Mitad Del Mundo” (Middle of the Earth). Located just an hour and a half out of Quito on a series of bus’s or a 30 minute taxi ride north of Quito is Mitad Del Mundo.
Standing on the Equator…. Or Am I? 😛
This monument replaced the smaller monument originally laid down by the government of Ecuador under direction of the geographer Luis Tufiño in 1936, This spot was believed to be where the equator was at 0 – 0 – 0 latitude, however later when read by a modern GPS system the actual Equator is 240 metres north of that line. (Whooops)
It may not have been the true Equator but atleast they have Llama’s or is it an Alpaca I could never tell 😛
But it’s still worth checking out there is a cool museum and the tower is very impressive and you can even go up to the top and get some pretty awesome photos for an extra fee.
Plus did I mention they have Alpaca’s? and you can get a rad stamp in your passport if you bring it along.
Be sure to bring your passport so you can get a stamp 😀
For those of you even more keen to find out where the actual equator line is, Just next door on the right (200m north) there is a small sign leading down a dirt road to the Intinan Solar Mueseum where they claim to have the real Equator line (As calculated by GPS)
The real (Calculated by GPS) Equator line
For a small entry fee you get a guided tour where you get to try balancing an egg and various other “Experiments” relating to the equator. It was a lot of fun and we even got to learn a bit more about Ecuadorian culture.
Balancing an Egg on the Equator line
Me walking along the Equator line
Upon researching this article I found out that even the Intinan Solar Mueseum which claims to have the true GPS calculated Equator position isn’t even accurate as it was not taken using a military grade GPS.
I found it funny how much the people working at both of these places claiming to be on the equator line were so adamant that they were on the true equator line. Even the people a the main equator line with the giant monument 240m off the true equator line. After asking numerous staff members in search of the true equator line all swore that this one was the only one.
The GPS calculated Equator line… or is it haha
But whether you are standing exactly on the equator line or not doesn’t matter to me. I learnt a lot about Ecuadorian culture and got some pretty awesome photos and immediately afterwards even got to try the local delicacy of Cuy (Guinea pig), Stay tuned for an upcoming post on that 😀
So where is the true Equator line? Would love to hear your experiences with this? If we go off Wikipedia as a source it should be 40m North of the main monument of Ciudad Mitad Del Mundo
