Otavalo, is a city in the Imbabura province just 2 hours North from Quito by bus.  The city is known throughout the country for being very indigenous and faithful to its Incan heritage, the men sport long hair kept in pony tails topped off with a fedora hat and peacock feather, while the women wear white blouses with colorful skirts and long strings of beads around their necks.

To walk around the Plaza de los Ponchos,  the epicenter of the indigenous market is to walk into a maze of colorful stalls selling wool sweaters, shrunken heads, t shirts, handcrafted jewelery and artwork depicting life in the region.  I am not a huge fan of markets, in fact I tend to steer clear of them whenever I travel as I never have room at home for any of the souvenirs I buy because I’m on the road more often then not.  With that being said, I am glad I came to this market and I even bought some souvenirs, gasp, but to me the only thing worth seeing here is usually what’s behind the stands, what’s hiding under the tables and walking behind the beautifully woven blankets that line the little corridors that criss-cross the market.  The people of Otavalo are the real treasure of the city, they are what made my trip out there memorable.  There is traditional music in the air, here and there you can spot bands of musicians walking around with their instruments, people dance in the plaza and in the streets, they speak Quechua, the Andean dialect of many indigenous people in the region, and are extremely proud of their heritage which is something that is truly a delight to watch.