Bizcochos de Cayambe

Cayambe, on the Panamericana an hour north of Quito, is the bizcocho town: dozens of bakeries line the road through it, baking a dry, crumbly, lightly salted butter biscuit twice in wood-fired ovens, sold hot by the box, and the accepted way to eat them is with queso de hoja, a fresh string cheese wrapped in a leaf, and a glass of hot manjar-sweetened milk or fruit drink. Buses stop and vendors board with baskets. The combination of salt biscuit, fresh squeaky cheese and something hot is one of the fixed rituals of travelling this road, and the town has made a festival of it. Cayambe also gives its name to the volcano and grows a large share of Ecuador's export roses.

The main sights

• Wood-fired twice-baked biscuits - the bizcocho as the town makes it.
• Queso de hoja - fresh string cheese wrapped in a leaf.
• Bakeries along the highway - dozens competing on the through road.
• Vendors boarding the buses - the roadside trade in baskets.

When to go

Year round. One hour as a stop on the Quito to Otavalo road. Buy them hot from the oven; they are much better than boxed and cooled.

Before you go

They are dry and plain on their own; the cheese and hot drink are not optional. Quality varies between the many bakeries. It is a roadside stop, not a destination in itself.

Nearby

Cayambe volcano rises east; Otavalo lies north.