Cultural Festivals Markets Weekend Colorful Otavalo Market

Inca Heritage

The Otavaleños are the ones that have preserved their Inca heritage more than any other indigenous comunity in Ecuador, their way to get dressed, the food and their hair styles, men and women have long hairs. Also several festivities and different festivals to thank the elements of the mother earth or “Pacha Mama” or Father Sun “Taita Inti” are part  of the culture that Otavalo still preserves.

Otavalo Market Tourism

Otavalo Market, is also a must-see tourist attraction in Ecuador being one of the biggest indigenous markets in South America, it is essential not to miss this trip to this unique town and market, since there is not much that compares to it around the globe.

This open market is full of colorful textiles and kiosks which are set up daily, here you can find yourself bedazzled and overwhelmed with such a variety, prices at the market are reasonable so feel free to shop, but if bargaining is your style you can give it a try when buying alpaca sweaters, ponchos, beanies, gloves, socks or hand-embroidered tablecloths, hats, paintings or rugs.

Otavalo Culture

Textile weaving by hand with manual or automatic looms is part of the culture, not only of Otavalo but from this entire province of Imbabura, textile weaving in otavalo is a tradition, but, what makes the textiels from Otavalo unique are the colors and their meanigful designs from the pre inca civilizations, which till today these symbols are preserved by reproducing them in the  tapestry

Musicians, this land is also know for their musicians, musicians that travel all over the world playing their panflutes and the recognizable music from the andes.

Merchants, some history books tell us that the Otavalos where one of the firs groups of Ecuadorias who traveled abroad to sell their textile products and the ones who started to export these products from ecuador, Otavaleños have a long history of traveling around the world taking their products to sell them abroad at a better price.

Otavalo Market Food

Part of an everyday diet for an Otavaleños is rich in grains basicly all types of corn, pork and potato pankakes like, called tortillas de papa this dish is called fritada, also the trditional pulled pork or Hornado, wich is a pork slowly cooked in a brick oven for many hours, making it very tender and delicious.