Your Travel Experience with chilepro
Sundial Quitsato
Quitsato is a large sundial 52 meters in diameter consisting of a large stone mosaic. The clock shows the different lines of the solstices and equinoxes, as well as the hours of the day. These are marked by the projection of the shadow from a large 10 meter high pole placed exactly in the center of the circular platform.
The monument functions as both a large calendar and a sundial, becoming the best place in the world to understand the movements of the sun, the workings of the seasons, the history of the calendar, the agricultural calendar, and various astronomical-geographical and educational aspects. The Quitsato Sundial is the first monument in the world built in conjunction with space technology, not only because of its satellite positioning, but also because its platform can be observed and processed from space, as the different colors of the stones that make up the mosaic have different temperatures; white stones are colder because they reflect sunlight, while dark stones are hotter because they absorb solar radiation.
The monument attracts attention not only because of its unique design as a circular platform, where the structure is horizontal and on the ground, but also because of its incredible landscape. One can see from this point several archaeological sites, various mountains of the equatorial Andes and, above all, the imposing presence of the Cayambe volcano. Cayambe is also the highest place on the equatorial line in the world.
Quitsato has a large parking lot and in order to offer better comfort to our visitors, we are located on the Panavial road, km 192, E 35, via Quito-Cayambe (south), in the sector of Guachalá, only 1 hour and 20 minutes from Quito, heading north, where the tourist sites of Imbabura, Otavalo, Cotacachi, Ibarra and other places of tourist interest are located. Nearby is the Hacienda Guachalá, one of the oldest and most important haciendas in Ecuador.