Like a golden thread circling the Earth, the equator sprinkles a little bit of tourist magic in 11 countries.
ADVERTISEMENTBefore visiting Ecuador, the eponymous equator wasn’t probably the most eagerly-anticipated moment on my bucket list trip. There have been giant tortoises to fulfill, cloud forests to climb and Indigenous markets to explore.
However the Quitsato Sundial, 50 kilometres north of Quito, was a surprise highlight. One which has made me an advocate for equator tourism.
Our Earth’s circle of latitude passes through 11 countries: Indonesia (which has the longest cut), Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
With the Midas Touch, it sprinkles a little bit of tourist stardust wherever it goes – launching monuments, museums and, in fact, plenty of selfies.
I learnt that the equator can change your perspective in the event you let it: surely what travel is all about.
What’s there to see at Ecuador’s equator?
Access to the Quitsato Sundial is thru an unassuming solar museum, run by the nonprofit Quitsato organisation for $5 (€4.50) per adult.
Guides give an insightful and well-pitched talk concerning the equator and the way it got here to be established here, after 18th century scientists triangulated it from the Andes mountains.
Satellite technology has since confirmed this site near Cayambe city to be the true equator – unlike other tourist attractions with equatorial claims, the Mitad del Mundo monument, and the Intiñan Solar Museum. It’s also the very best country where you’ll be able to visit the equator.
There’s loads of time to pace across the most important attraction: a 10-metre high orange pole set within the centre of the sundial, inside a circular mosaic of pebbles that mark the solstices and equinoxes.
On a cloudless day the pole will let you know the time; casting no shadow in any respect when the sun is directly overhead at noon.
After I visited in July, my family and I had the 54-metre wide platform to ourselves, giving us the ground for fun photos. Including an equator classic: a panorama where you pose on one side then run behind the photographer to pose on the opposite side, placing you in each the northern and southern hemisphere in a single fridge-worthy pic.
The equator could change the best way you concentrate on world maps
The part that actually stayed with me is the ‘Ecuascope’ room – a floor-to-ceiling exhibit that aligns the equator to the celebs, and exposes the arbitrariness of our world map.
Despite the north nearly at all times being shown at the highest of the world, there’s nothing inherently ‘up’ concerning the north. Historically, maps have put different directions on top depending on the prevailing worldview: east, towards sunrise for the traditional Egyptians, for instance; south, towards Mecca for early Muslim cultures who were mostly north of it.
In 1569, Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator drew the primary map to bear in mind the curvature of the Earth, to assist sailors navigate. He likely placed north up top because Europeans were doing a lot of the exploring on the time, suggests science author Caroline Williams. Given how influential Mercator’s map was, Europe has been within the upper storeys of Earth ever since.
The Quitsato solar museum tilts your perspective, inviting you to assume what it could be like if the equator were rendered as a vertical line, with the east on top. Its ‘integral geoperspective’ map makes the case that the east is the one cardinal point with a continuing reference point: the sun.
ADVERTISEMENTWhy does this matter? Well, as Williams writes, “evidence from psychology suggests that our north-up culture could be polluting the best way we predict of what’s worthwhile on this planet.”
Where else are you able to visit the equator?
A visit to the equator isn’t guaranteed to be profound. But in the event you’re already visiting one in every of these countries, it’s price taking a small detour to straddle it.
Kenya’s equator signs
There are a few places where you’ll be able to experience the equator in Kenya.
Nanyuki Town has a brilliant yellow sign by the road, with plenty of souvenir shops. One ambivalent TripAdvisor review describes it as a “must do tourist trap”. For a small fee, you’ll be able to see how the coriolis effect on water (whereby it normally turns clockwise or anticlockwise because it drains) becomes zero at 0 degrees latitude.
ADVERTISEMENTOl Pejeta Conservancy – home to the last northern white rhinos on the planet – also has an indication, and is a more peaceful place to soak up the moment.
The Equator Monument in Indonesia
Often called “Equator City,” Pontianak is the capital of West Kalimantan province. Two miles north of the centre stands a small, free museum, housing the unique monument first built on the positioning by a Dutch geographer in 1928.
An even bigger monument was then built around it, turning the Equator Monument right into a notable landmark.
It gets a mixed response from visitors too. “It’s unlucky that the realm across the Monument could be very poorly developed and maintained,” writes one tourist. “Go there just the identical due to wonder. Your physical presence in that a part of the world is a fantastic feeling, a reward by itself.”
ADVERTISEMENTIt’s possible you’ll need to time your visit for the spring and autumn solstices, when Pontianak city holds a celebration.
Uganda’s equatorial photo opportunity
There are also a few marked equator points to pick from in Uganda, if you’re not marvelling at mountain gorillas.
The simplest to succeed in is at Kayabwe, where the road crosses the Kampala-Masaka highway. Here an easy circular monument provides the right photo opportunity for an enduring memory.
“I used to be surprised at how interesting it was to stop off on the equator,” writes one TripAdvisor reviewer. Nearby souvenir shops and restaurants get a generally positive write-up too.
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