Ambato

Ambato is the fourth largest city in Ecuador and is on the Pan American Highway about two and one half hours south of Quito. The only major town between Quito and Ambato is Latacunga. Latacunga is the main entry point for the Quilotoa loop and the famous Black Sheep Inn. Ambato is two hours west of Guaranda.

In the middle of the town is a river, and there are several bridges that connect both sides of the valley. The Mira Flores area of town is the nice part of town with some nice hotels mainly the Mira Flores Hotel and the Florida Hotel.

The guide books say that the Monday market in Ambato is the largest in Ecuador, but I didn´t find this to be the case, although it is quite large. The city is very nice, with about 140 thousand people, mas o menos.

It is certainly a nice place to take a break if you are traveling to Banos, and also a nice resting spot on the way between Quito and Cuenca which is about 5 hours to the south. Its also a nice spot to take a break if you are traveling from Guayaquil to Quito on the long bus ride...

The downtown area is typical of this size city in Latin America with lots of tiendas, banks, etc...

I would recommend Ambato as a nice resting spot for several days before moving on to other parts of the country as it is a nice place centrally located in Ecuador with all of the big city amenities and not alot of the big city problems.