7 BEST [FOLK] ART, HANDICRAFTS & ARTIFACTS MARKETS OF ECUADOR

1. Plaza de los Ponchos in Otavalo

2. Mariscal Art and Crafts Market in Quito

3. Ejido Park Art and Crafts Market in Quito

4. Ejido Park Open Air Art Gallery in Quito

5. Juan Leon Mera street high end Art, Crafts & Antique shops  in Quito

6. Productos Andinos in Quito

Best Folk Art, Handicrafts, Artifacts and Artifacts Markets in Ecuador

The Plaza de los Ponchos Ecuador Folk Art, Handicrafts and Artifacts Market in Otavalo

The best place for buying Indian craft and art in Ecuador, no doubt is the artisan market of Otavalo. On the Plaza de los Ponchos you will find all the woven and knitted textiles for which the Otavalo Indians are so famous: rugs, table cloths, shawls, wraps, ponchos, wall tapestry, etc. etc. But you will also find Panama hats from Cuenca, leather jackets from Cotacachi and wood carvings from San Antonio.

The Plaza de los Ponchos was built after the design of Tony Zwollo as a donation from the Government of the Netherlands in 1970. It contains 90 mushroom shaped concrete stalls (quite ugly in fact, but very solid). While the plaza may have been sufficient for the Indian merchants in the 1970s, they certainly are not so now, and many streets feeding into the Plaza, are lined with stalls, particularly on Saturdays, which are market day. Much more information and many more pictures of the city of Otavalo, its people and its market are available on our Otavalo page.

The Plaza de los Ponchos with mountains in the background.

The mushroom shaped stalls are visible in both pictures on the right.

What to Buy in Ecuador

In fact, there are 5 different Ecuador Folk Art, Handicrafts and Artifacts Market, making it very difficult to chose what to buy in Ecuador.

Art and Craft markets in Quito

Capital Quito also has two art markets and many individual shops, but they are not quite as well supplied as Otavalo. The tow markets are:

• The Mercado Artesenal Mariscal - the Arts and craft market Mariscal -, which covers the entire block between the Calle Juan Leon Mera and Reina Victoria along the Calle Jorge Washington. 

• The Market in the Ejido Park, a pedestrian path reserved for art and craft stalls under a modern looking cover.

Many individual art and craft shops are found on the Calle Juan Leon Mera (Street) and the Avenida Amazonas directly North of the Ejido Park. More shops are found in the centre, particularly on the Plaza Central, the Plaza San Fransisco and its feeding streets, as well as the Calle Ronda. There are basically two kinds of shops. The small shops which sell the same products as on the markets, but usually with less variety, and the up-scale shops, which sell different products from what can be found on the markets, but they are usually rather expensive and bargaining usually is not very successful (but you can always try).

Additionally, there is an interesting painting and modern art market on the North side of the Ejido Park (opposite Hotel Colon). While there is a lot of kitsch, some of the objects are quite original and worth buying for your home. One particular artist makes beautiful paintings of indigenous people at a very large size. Given te size, they are good value for money (art paint is very very expensive). But then, once you have bought it, HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU GET IT HOME????????? (Sorry, I have no pictures of the paintings of my favorite artist).

Mercado de Artesanias la Mariscal in Quito

Specialized art and craft shops on Juan Leon Mera Street

Several art shop in Juan Leon Mera street sell quality products and antique not found on the market, but at much higher prices.

Covered stalls in the Ejido Park Art & Crafts Market.

Watch the children and families have a great time.

Open air paintings Gallery on Ejido Park

On the north side of the Ejido Park are displays of paintings for sale. Many may not be your taste, but some of them are very artistic indeed.

Productos Andinos

An all times classic is Productos Andinos, Calle Urbina & Cordero, the first shop with quality traditional art of Ecuador, founded in the early 70s and still owned by the same charming elderly lady. Over the years we have bought many great pieces from this shop and always stop here to see if she has something of our liking. She sells the best Mazapan, a very traditional dough based art product that is now hard to come by in Quito.

Other Ecuadorian art and craft hard to come by at Productos Andinos:

• Some of our favorites: The fabulous lady's backpacks (left). It's sturdy and backpack looks very special;

• Colored baskets.

The Centro Cultural Tianguez is an artshop with restaurant at the Plaza San Fransisco with traditional food of all regions of Ecuador.

City tours are almost daily available. Our Andes Trek, Ecuador program includes the best National Parks of Ecuador in the Andes as well as the famous cultural highlights, like Quito, Cuenca and Ingapirca.  Please contact us for information, rates and bookings.

7 BEST [FOLK] ART, HANDICRAFTS & ARTIFACTS MARKETS OF ECUADOR