The Mitad del Mundo complex, about 22 km north of central Quito, was built in 1982 to mark the precise location of the equator as calculated by the 18th-century French Geodesic Mission, which came to this spot in 1736 to measure the Earth's circumference. A 30-metre monument topped by a globe marks the spot, with a yellow painted line running across the plaza indicating the equatorial line.
The complex has grown into a tourist village with restaurants, craft shops, a planetarium, and several smaller museums. The most engaging attraction is the Museo de Sitio Intiñan, just outside the main compound, which uses the actual GPS-confirmed equatorial line for demonstrations — including the famous water experiment (water drains in opposite directions on either side of the equator, though the effect is subtle and somewhat staged). The site is best reached by taxi from Quito or on a half-day tour.