Imbabura Province (Ibarra / Otavalo), Ecuador

I lived in Ibarra for 3 months and traveled to all the towns around the area. I loved it! It’s 2 hrs north of Quito and definitely a completely different vibe from the touristy, city life. If you’re looking for a more local, authentic, chill vibe this is a neat place to be. You will still see people from other countries but it’s much more authentic. Ibarra has a lot of really good restaurants and street food. A few favs are el Barbero, Bistroungue, and Abaco. El quince is my favorite coffee shop. The owners are some of the nicest ppl you will meet and the brownie is dangerously good. There are a lot of popular nightclubs around the area. I went to is La Diabla and had a good time. The most popular one now is la chismosa. One that i can definitely recommend is Gong. they have salsa classes a few times per wk and it’s more of a chill lounge where locals, expats, and tourists meet. they sell yummy vegan food and beer so eat beforehand if you want meat. Close by you can go to Plaza de los Panchos in Otavalo on Saturday morning. This is one of the biggest outdoor markets in the world. The native populations sells all kinds of South American souvenirs and they’re open to bargaining. you’ll get better deals if you’re with locals or speak Spanish. go to peguche to see an amazing waterfall and maybe some llamas depending on the time. Go to Laguna cuicocha and hike a little or take a boat around the bubbly volcanic lake. Go to yahuarcocha to chill by the lake, go boating or paragliding, or have some AMAZING fish at a restaurant nearby. this is less touristy than Quito so it helps if you speak a little español. If not, just grab a tour guide to take you around. Prices here are much cheaper than Quito also. Getting around by yellow taxi is easiest and very cheap. I recommend staying in air bnb because hostels can be really hit or miss. There’s so much to see and do. Just writing this review makes me want to make my way back to this laid back but adventurous place. My fav so far.