Ibarra

Ibarra, la ciudad blanca, is the provincial capital of Imbabura, flattened by an earthquake in 1868 and rebuilt in the low white colonial manner that gives it its name, with arcaded plazas, churches and a relaxed climate at 2,200 metres that is warmer than Quito. Its everyday fame is culinary: helados de paila, sorbets made by spinning fruit juice in a copper pan set on ice and straw, a technique the town has kept since the nineteenth century, with the Rosalia Suarez shop the institution among many. The city is the base for the Yahuarcocha lake circuit, the train to the Chota valley when running, and the road north toward the topiary cemetery at Tulcan and the border.

What you actually see

• Helados de paila - sorbet spun in copper pans on ice.
• White arcaded plazas - the post-1868 rebuild.
• The Rosalia Suarez heladeria - the shop that made the tradition.
• Yahuarcocha nearby - the lake circuit on the edge of town.

When to go

Year round. Half a day. The centre is liveliest in the evening paseo. September's Fiesta de los Lagos brings processions and races.

Honest expectations

It is a pleasant provincial city rather than a destination, and an afternoon covers it. Traffic is heavy on the through roads. The famous ice cream is the memory most visitors leave with.

Nearby

Laguna Yahuarcocha is north-east; Otavalo lies south.