Quito is a unique city in the Andes, at an altitude of nearly three thousand meters above sea level. There is an active stratovolcano Pichincha near the city. The settlement of San Francisco de Quito was founded here by the Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar in the first half of the 16th century. The old town of Quito has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage as it is full of historic monuments from the colonial period, however, the other parts of Quito are characterized by modern architecture, which is an administrative and commercial center of Ecuador.
