Secret Garden

Quito


This perennially popular hostel has an undeniably social vibe, and wallflowers or those seeking privacy will want to head elsewhere. Long-term travelers getting by on bartending jobs in Quito and others on the South America circuit swap stories over a beer on the rooftop terrace with magical views over the Old Town. You’ll also find simple but clean wood-floor rooms.

Steep flights of stairs head up to the roof, which also doubles as reception. It has nightly dinners (mains about $5), Spanish lessons, volunteer opportunities, regular events (quiz nights, Aussie-style barbecues) and CarpeDM, a first-rate tour agency on-site.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Quito attractions

1. Parque Itchimbia

0.29 MILES

Sitting high on a hill above the Old Town, this grassy park boasts magnificent views of the city, running and cycle tracks and a children's playground. It…

2. Quito Observatory

0.31 MILES

Opened by President García Moreno in 1864, this four-sided observatory is the oldest on the continent. It houses a museum of 19th-century pendulums,…

3. Museo Camilo Egas

0.33 MILES

Inside this restored colonial home is a small but iconic collection of work by painter Camilo Egas (1899–1962), Ecuador’s first indigenista (indigenous…

4. Basílica del Voto Nacional

0.34 MILES

On a hill in the northeastern part of the Old Town looms this massive Gothic church, Quito's largest, built over several decades beginning in 1892. Rather…

5. Parque La Alameda

0.35 MILES

Breaking up the New Town's sea of concrete and glass is this welcome splash of greenery, containing the Quito Observatory and a small boating lake. A few…

6. Convento San Agustín

0.42 MILES

This monastery is a fine example of 17th-century architecture, with unusual Moorish arches decorated with hundreds of golden pineapples. Many of the…

8. Palacio Arzobispal

0.49 MILES

On the northeast side of Plaza Grande, this former archbishop’s palace is now a colonnaded row of small shops and restaurants, located between Avenidas…