Textiles
Alpaca wool.
Arabsalam — CC BY-SA 4.0 · David Adam Kess — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Paulzuri — CC BY-SA 4.0 · David Adam Kess — CC BY-SA 3.0
One of South America's best-known craft markets, in Otavalo town among lakes and volcanoes north of Quito, run by the Kichwa Otavalo people, famed for centuries for their weaving and trade and for their traditional dress: men with long braids and hats, women in white embroidered blouses and gold necklaces. Plaza de Ponchos fills every day with stalls of colourful textiles: blankets, shawls and ponchos of alpaca and sheep wool, scarves, bags and hats, jewellery, woodwork and folk paintings. On Saturdays the market grows to fill all the surrounding streets. Bargaining is part of the experience, politely and with a smile. On the town's edge on Saturday mornings there is an animal market where farmers trade livestock and poultry, a noisy glimpse of real rural life. Go in the morning before tour buses arrive. Watch your belongings in crowds and wear your bag in front.
Alpaca wool.
Saturday morning.
Politely.
Plaza de Ponchos, central Otavalo, about two hours north of Quito
Saturday, when it spreads through surrounding streets and the animal market runs in the morning, though it is open daily and calmer on weekdays.