Rumipamba Archaeological and Ecological Park

Rumipamba Archaeological and Ecological Park is a 33-hectare protected area in the western suburbs of Quito that preserves the remains of a pre-Hispanic settlement occupied for approximately 3,000 years. Guided trails wind through native vegetation and past excavated house foundations, burial mounds, and artefact scatters from the Quito culture that inhabited this site before the Inca conquered the region in the late 15th century.

The combination of ecological restoration (the park is revegetating with native Andean plants) and ongoing archaeological investigation makes this an unusual place — more genuine than many "archaeological parks" in the region. The museum at the park entrance displays artefacts found on site and explains the history of the Quito culture. Guided tours are recommended; without a guide, the significance of what you are looking at is easy to miss. The park is a good half-day excursion from the Historic Centre.

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A story
Rumipamba was continuously inhabited from around 1500 BCE until the Spanish conquest — making it one of the longest-occupied sites in the Quito basin. The Quito culture that lived here was distinct from both the coastal Manteña culture and the highland Caranqui — they built circular houses on raised terraces and traded with communities across a wide area of the northern Andes. The site was only properly excavated in the early 2000s, when urban construction uncovered the extent of the remains.

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