An easy half-day-trip from Quito, just 9km northeast of the capital's outskirts, Calderón is a small town renowned for its brightly coloured dough figures ( masapán ). The tradition, thought to be pre-Hispanic, was subsumed into Catholicism under All Saints and the Day of the Dead (Nov 1 and 2), when simple, edible bread figures were brought to the cemetery and placed on top of the graves as an offering to the departed souls. Nowadays this has become a very colourful affair and its popularity has spawned a thriving figurine-making industry. You can't eat them, but then you wouldn't want to: many involve intricate detailing, such as clowns with extravagant mock-filigree ruffs and fibrous hair.

 

In town there are a number of good artesanías on the main street, Carapungo, which leads uphill from the main square. They're all open on weekdays and occasional Saturdays: one of the best is Artesanía Carapungo, halfway up this street, which exports its pieces to Europe. Most have a workshop at the back where you can see the figures being made with an unpalatable mixture of flour, water, colourings, paint and varnish.

Pink-and-white Interparroquial buses leave old-town Quito from the Plaza La Marín (a 40min trip), every few minutes. If you're in the new town, pick them up on the corner of Avenida América and Colón.