PLAZA DE LOS PONCHOS 

 

Otavalo is 2h from Quito; The main tourist attraction of Otavalo is its Square or Plaza de los Ponchos. Here thousands of artisans and merchants gather every day of the week to display  their crafts, especially on Saturdays when the fair extends to nearby streets due to its magnitude and importance.  You can find products made in raft, leather, tagua, precious stones, vegetables fibers, next to the straw hats, replicas of archaeological pieces, carved in stone or wood and other crafts that come from neighboring countries of the Andes.

​

However, the Kichwa Otavalo maintains and preserves their artisanal tradition with techniques inherited from millenary times as evidenced by the vestiges of spun fabrics in archaeological excavations. But artisans have also appreciated new weaving techniques that, through their handling and mastery, create together beautiful works that are reflected in tapestries, embroidery, sacks, sweaters, fabrics, shirts, pants, hammocks among an infinity of crafts. All this diversity of colors, textures and materials; Perfect techniques, tools and combinations combined with a tradition that today is the result of a process of creations, adaptations and experimentation, make Otavalo recognized as the Plaza Mayor de las Artesanías of the entire American continent.