Equator, the magical line that more or less everyone has heard about. Or is it really a fixed line? As it turns out, the equator is a lot more complex than many believe.

Equator is the imaginary line separating the northern and southern hemisphere. When we were travelling to the Galápagos Islands we started the journey in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. As the names suggests, the equator runs through the country, through the capital actually. Being as close as we were, we excitedly jumped on a local bus, heading towards Mitad del Mundo, the middle of the world.

Mitad del Mundo is the most visited tourist attraction in Ecuador. And not without reason. We expected to see a line, some signs and that’s about it, right? Nope, there are actually 99 buildings here, put together by an astonishing 700 000 bricks. The most striking building is of course the monument on the equator line, but there are also numerous other interesting buildings here. Some are from colonial times, such as an old church, others are newer, like a museum, a brewery and various restaurants. As we started off our plan was to cross the equator line, take some photos and go back. But we ended up spending many hours here.

A train runs around the entre area, a museum has an augmented reality experience and the area is in general both beautiful and safe.

All seemed well, until two weeks later. We were about to travel to another place in Ecuador and suddenly realised: We’ve been fooled. Well, a little bit at least.

In the museum in Mitad del Mundo we were informed that the globe constantly changes shape a bit. Therefore the equator will also move, after all it must remain in the middle. Due to this the equator has been defined (according to the museum) as a 5 km wide strip, and everything within this is considered the equator. That sounded sensible, although the exact number 5 km does not seem to be quoted by too many other sources.

What we had not thought about was that on the maps the coordinates don’t change. For practical reasons these are fixed, and although the geographical equator moves, the equator on maps remain in the same place.

And does this line run through Mitad del Mundo? Nope, not at all. The line crosses just short of 250 metres away, but if you first are to stand on the equator line, it has to be done properly, right?

We therefore stopped in the city of Calacalí. According to our guide this place is known for it’s cockfighting, something he seemed particularly proud of. We figured out this wasn’t the right time to discuss animal welfare, smiled and tried to steer the conversation towards another subject.

And then there was the equator. Because this was supposed to be the place of the “real” equator line. We checked Google Maps and yes, spot on 0º latitude. This place is a lot less known than Mitad del Mundo, which meant that we were the only tourists there. The place also felt a lot more genuine, as the line did not cross through a grand area, but a side street off-centre through a park. The line was clearly drawn where the equator was, not where it was practical to make a tourist attraction.

There are numerous myths surrounding the equator. If you want to know more about it and learn what not to do at Mitad del Mundo, check out the video at the top of the article.

Practical tips to the equator in Ecuador

There are numerous tourist buses going to Mitad del Mundo, priced around 25-50 USD per person. This limits you to how long you can be there and you will arrive with a lot of other tourists.

Therefore we recommend travelling with the local bus. The journey costs around 35 cents and works well. Locals on the buses are very nice and will gladly help you out, although basic knowledge of Spanish is highly recommended. English won’t get you very far…

If you stay in the Miraflores area bus 207 goes directly to Mitad del Mundo. Google Maps does not seem to be very accurate in Quito (or Central and South America in general for that sake) when it comes public transport, so if you live elsewhere it might be easier to figure out which routes go from the station nearby you rather than asking Google for door-to-door navigation. Asking the locals is also usually a safe bet.

Payment is usually not collected when you enter the bus, but a bit before you exit. The buses have a dedicated payment collector in addition to the driver. They prefer exact change for the fare, and at least make sure you don’t pay with anything large than a few dollars.

Entrance to Mitad del Mundo costs only 5 USD per person and includes the museums, train and more.

Buses go to Calacalí too, but we did not try that option. We had a private guide travelling to Mindo Cloud Forest and the guide stopped along the way for us to see the town.

The equator line in Calacalí is located by the park Parque Central de Calacalí, but the monument often shown in photos is in the park Parque Carlota Jaramillo.

Have you crossed the equator yourself? And were you aware that the line is constantly moving?